


Secret Agent Ladybug

by Violetgalval



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Arranged Marriage, Espionage, F/M, hacker!Chat Noir, spy!Ladybug, spy!Sabine
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-10-11
Updated: 2018-08-03
Packaged: 2018-08-18 13:37:46
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 22
Words: 72,079
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8163838
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Violetgalval/pseuds/Violetgalval
Summary: Marinette is Secret Agent Ladybug, an international spy working to bring the world to justice. A big case arises in Paris to track down and apprehend public menace Papillon.  As she's already used up all of her travel VISA to Europe for the next six months, she's going to need BFF Alya to help her get around that so she can stay there long enough to catch him. Sly Alya, with the help of her boyfriend, Nino, and his BFF, Adrien, figures out a work-a-round for her. Marinette's only beef with the plan is getting married to a complete stranger. But she is willing to do whatever it takes to catch Papillon.





	1. Meet the Spouse

**Author's Note:**

> Hey! So I hope you enjoy, let me know if you have any ideas for me to incorporate. This was an idea my dreams supplied me with so I'm going to see where it takes me. I was planning on writing several chapters before posting anything, but I think if I know there's people who want to read it I won't forget that I'm supposed to be working on it? Also, I don't have a beta, so sorry for mistakes. Please let me know and I can fix them. My tumblr is http://violetgalval.tumblr.com/

Marinette stepped into the terminal. After three delays and sleeping in a bathroom stall when a creepy older man wouldn't leave her alone, she just wanted to soak in a bubble bath. She sighed as she scanned the space for a glimpse of her supposed best friend. _If she left me to fend for myself, I am going to kill that girl._ A tall blonde drew her attention when he lifted a poster board above his head and waved it back and forth. "欢迎! Bienvenue, Marinette!" could be read in a bold penmanship. Smiling she walked over to him.

"You must be Adrien?" she asked in French.

"Yes, it's a pleasure to meet you, Marinette," he replied, a small smile plastered on his face. He then shocked her by pulling her into a hug. He was so comfortable and warm; she melted right into him after a second of stiffness.

"No Alya?" she questioned as she pulled back. Before she could pick her carry-on back up, it was in his left hand. His right arm slipped around her waist and they started walking out.

"After the first delay she said she had 'too much shit, not enough time!' and told me to take care of it. Nino stayed with me, but after the third delay was announced, he had to leave so he could get to work. It's ok though, I didn't have anything going on anyway and really wanted to be here when you got off so you wouldn't be alone. Alya said it was your first time to Paris?"

"You could say that-" The three times she'd been to Paris in the past were undercover and not entirely legal. "-though my papa is a French baker from Paris. Growing up I was certain that it was just like what my life would have been like growing up in a boulangerie here. It seems everyone who knew any French was in there at least weekly if not daily." They got in line behind an Armenian woman at the passport clearance. 

"I was wondering why you seem to have a French accent instead of a Chinese one. I won't torture you with my pathetic French sounding Mandarin then," he said as they stepped up for their turn.

"Passport and VISA," the surly woman said, holding out an expectant hand. Marinette passed over all of her documentation. After typing a few things into her keyboard, the woman side-eyed Adrien. "You the fiance then?" He nodded and handed her his own passport. She continued on with demands after his address, phone number, email, the date of the wedding, the location of the wedding, the time of the wedding, how long he'd lived in Paris, when he last left the country, and on and on. Marinette almost fell asleep against him and was never more grateful for his arm around her holding her up. She wasn't really paying attention but her ears did catch that the wedding wouldn't be tomorrow as it was planned (originally it was supposed to be today after they left the airport but with the delays the court house wouldn't be open anymore so she conferred with Alya that tomorrow would be just fine). However, the wedding seemed to be six days hence on Sunday. On a day the courthouse wouldn't be open. Suspicion sank into her as she sank into Adrien's side. She was supposed to be having a quicky wedding so she could have a quicky divorce and go back to working undercover in other countries as needed. She couldn't very well do that if this wedding got out of proportion. Was his family coming to this? Wouldn't his life be harder if he introduced her to them? She snapped back to attention when the woman spoke up again. "Make sure you fax all paperwork to this number after the legalities are covered. If you don't do it in a timely fashion, it doesn't matter whether you are legally married or not, she will be deported until everything is finalized."

"Of course, thank you so much. Have a good evening," Adrien responded. He collected everything and tugged Marinette out of the way for the next person. They stopped at a bench on the other side to put everything away. Marinette reached for her bag again but Adrien beat her to it, giving her a cheeky grin when she huffed out her annoyance. "Come on, we should get to baggage claim before someone tries to make off with the rest of your luggage." She huffed again but let him lead her.

Gathering her luggage and getting to the car took about an hour and Marinette was exhausted. She fell asleep before Adrien had even pulled up to the toll booth to pay his parking fee. He smiled at her sleeping form while he waited for the attendant to verify the amount and collect his change. He didn't wake her when he got to his home. Instead, he carried first all of her luggage and then her up to his penthouse. Marinette was finally roused by the sound of water filling the tub. Cracking her back and rubbing her eyes she made her way into the shiny bathroom where her 'fiance' was pouring some Milk and Honey bubble bath into the steaming water. She cleared her throat and he looked up.

"Oh hey!" A beautiful smile curled onto his lips. "You mumbled something about soaking in your sleep on the way here so I figured you'd enjoy cleaning up before actually going to bed tonight." He proceeded to dig out towels and fancy soaps, aligning them along the tub.

"So, ah... this is your room then?" Her sleepy state caused her voice to raise to a slight squeak and her cheeks to darken.

Adrien seemed to instantly catch onto her apprehension. "Yes, but I do have a room made up for you. Ah, this is just, it's the only tub and you can only get to it from my room," he stammered as he shrugged his shoulders. "While the tub fills, I can give you the tour and you can get your sleepwear." At her nod, he jumped up and directed her back to the bed room. "Obviously, my room. And here is the utility closet, this one next to it is storage and across is my office." He motioned opened the office door to let her peek in and see a desk with a computer on it. There were cabinets where she assumed all his actual work must be because the room was pristine. He closed the door and led her down the hall. "The kitchen/dinning/living space." He motioned to the fully equipped kitchen, which had an island counter and bar stools, and then room for a marble dinning room table, which flowed into the carpeted space containing a couch, a love seat and a very impressive TV. She wasn't sure how long he'd actually own this place as again everything was sparkling. The only hint of life was the gaming controller left out on the coffee table. "There's a balcony behind those curtains," he said pointing behind the dinning room table. He pointed out the front door and the half bath then showed her down another hallway. This one had two bedrooms, another office space and a 3/4 bath. The first bed room was nothing special, however the second was themed to her tastes. All thanks to Alya apparently. Marinette rolled her eyes at that. "You can use the other office space however you wish. The end of your hallway opens into a den with my library and a bar. Feel free to use whatever you wish from there too of course. With that, I'm going to go back and check on the tub."

Marinette watched him leave and turned to her suit cases. She pulled out her suits and dresses to hang up but left everything else where it was. She found what she needed for the night and made her way out of her room. She peeked into the den, but saved snooping for later. She looked into the other office space. There was absolutely nothing in there which surprised her. She went back into the living space. It seemed so, cold. The whole place was definitely decorated by a professional instead of Adrien himself. Aside from the library and the gaming controller, she could gleam nothing about his personality. The curtain on the balcony door caught her attention and she went over to check it out. Outside, Adrien had some patio furniture, a hot tub, and a terrace garden. The garden looked beautiful, but there weren't any supplies sitting around to care for it. She couldn't tell if it was a personal touch or a styled one. He could either be a neat freak or just not use anything he owned. Or hired a maid to clean before she came. It's not like he didn't have any warning. She wandered through the kitchen, letting her hand brush against the marble counter-tops before meandering back to the tub. Adrien was just turning off the water.

"Perfect timing! I'll be in my room reading if you need me."

She smiled at him and he let out a nervous giggle before dancing past her and leaving her alone. Aching bones and sturdy knots both cried out for joy as Marinette lowered herself into the deliciously warm and bubbly water. She was bound and determined to NOT fall asleep, she didn't need her "fiance" coming in to check on her. That didn't mean she wasn't going to enjoy relaxing though. She had a long stay ahead of her and needed to gear herself up to catch the biggest criminal she's faced yet. So sue her if she was going to take ONE night off and soak in the bubbles. The wedding. Shit, she still needed to talk to him. "Hey, Adrien?

There was some shuffling before she heard him approach the bathroom. "Yes, Marinette? Did you need something?" came his voice just from the other side of the door.

"Yeah, go ahead and sit down. We should talk."

His foot-steps retreated for a moment. He returned and the door creaked as he leaned against it. "What did you want to talk about?" he asked, his voice rising slightly before it cracked.

Was he nervous? What did he have to be nervous about? Marinette shifted and pushed the bubbles around, trying to come up with the best way to start this. Honesty is always the best policy... "What happened to getting married tomorrow? Is the court house not going to be available or something?" She tried to keep the question light. She scooped up some water to let slowly trickle back out between her fingers.

"Oh, um... Well you see, uh... Ok so Alya was saying that..." Suddenly there was a loud thump against the door, followed by a soft, "ow". Then Adrien huffed and started again. "Well so Alya said, when she was submitting the paperwork for us that they were super grilling her about everything. 'Why isn't the husband doing this?' 'What do you mean he's too busy to have an actual wedding?' 'Who wouldn't take time out for the supposed love of their life?' Mind you, I don't actually know what they said and how much of this is Alya's Story Time." Marinette rolled her eyes. She loved Alya, she was a great friend. But she was definitely one to embellish a story. "Anyway, so she said that she told them it was just the formality part that we were going to come in for and that we were still having a wedding. Of course we were. Why wouldn't we? What with how influential my family is it would be strange to not have a wedding. So... so Alya got together with my father to make a list and sent out invitations. I have no idea what she said to him. I haven't talked to him since she did this. But anyway, they told her we didn't need to go into the court house prior to the wedding, we just needed an ordained minister at the wedding and they would count for that signature so she got the paperwork we need and found someone who was available and now we are having an actual wedding." He sighed again and she heard his head tap against the door again, albeit a lot softer this time. "I'm sorry, I know this isn't what you wanted. But Alya said they were suspicious that my family wasn't going to know about the wedding."

"It's ok. We need to make sure this is believable so I don't get deported." Marinette slipped under the water. She floated along the bottom of the tub for a moment before coming back up. Some water splashed over the edge. "Oops." Peeking at it, she decided it wasn't enough to do any damage so she'd clean it up when she got out. Instead, she looked over the hair care options so she could start cleaning up. Decisions made, she let her body go into auto-pilot and turned her attention back to the man on the other side of the door. "What's this about your family though. Alya never told me what you did. I never thought to ask assuming she'd tell me if it was something important."

"Oh it just that my father is a wealthy fashion designer. It would be a little ridiculous for me to get married and for my bride to not be wearing a Gabriel original."

There was a bloop as Marinette's grip tightened on the conditioner. She didn't even look down at her palm full of product. Her voice wavered as she asked, "Gabriel, as in Gabriel Agreste? World famous fashion mogul who started his empire with an Etsy store working out of his bedroom to pay his way through school, that Gabriel?"

"Ha. So.... you've heard of him then I guess." Adrien sounded sheepish. Marinette just stared at the door as her vision blurred. She had DREAMED of wearing a Gabriel original since she was 8 and first started planning out her dream wedding. She had even wanted to follow in his footsteps and tried to coerce her father into buying her a sewing machine behind her mother's back. She tried for years to break away from the family business and forge her own path. She ultimately failed because she never did get that sewing machine and hand sewing took even longer when you only had an hour of free time any given day to work on it. Which was often delegated to icing bruises or going over something she was taught that day so she wouldn't fall behind and get pummeled at her next training. Espionage was a lot of hard work and a lot of it was painful and repetitive. That didn't leave a lot of room for creative sketching or nimble fingers for embroidering. But to marry Gabriel freaking Agreste's son?!?! To be REQUIRED to wear a Gabriel original because it would dishonorable to not?!?! That was never part of the plan. Alya. This had Alya written all over it. That girl KNEW about her desires. They had been pen-pals since they were small. It started as a way to practice French and make connections for when she would inevitably wind up there on a mission. It kept on with friendship. The friendship became even better when Alya became the Lead of Communications for the Bureau of International Affairs (official title, in actuality she organized bringing in and sending out spies and devising the cover stories and identities and getting the paperwork). Marinette had been very smug with her mother and Master Fu when she waltzed into the office and gave them Alya's card as their newest (and best) Parisian contact. But Gabriel Agreste's son? Alya was dead. It didn't matter how good she was at her job, friend things always came first.

"I have heard of him. Alya didn't mention the connection though," Marinette said quietly, looking down at all the conditioner dripping out of her hand into the water. "That bitch," she tacked on in a mutter, clenching her fist and watching as the white gel shot everywhere. She sighed and collected what she could to put in her hair.

Adrien's quiet chuckle came through the door. "Yeah she is. Can't help but love her though," came his soft reply.

Marinette reddened, not realizing he could hear that last bit. "Hey, how do you even know her? I didn't think federal agents spent a lot of time with super models."

It was Adrien's turn to redden. "So you know that too huh?" A snort came out before she could stop herself. She dipped under the water to hide her embarrassment and to rinse her hair out. He had waited until the sound of splashing died down to continue. "Well, actually I know her partially through her freelancing as a reporter, partially as the girl friend of my best bro, and partially as my Lycée and then my Collége classmate. We did not go to Uni together though. But by then she and Nino were engaged so I see her semi-regularly. Don't know that much about her actual job though. How did you meet her? Are you a federal agent too?

"We've been pen-pals since we were little. And no, I'm no federal agent. What did Alya tell you about me?"

Adrien was silent for so long that Marinette wasn't sure he was going to answer. She contemplated just winging it and hoping it didn't conflict with anything Alya had told him when he started talking. "Ok, so don't laugh, but I kind of jumped into this without thinking about anything and then when I started asking questions Alya just teased me instead of answering. 'What's it matter what she does? You didn't care about that when you agreed to marry her.' 'You didn't care why she wanted to come to Paris when you agreed to marry her, why do you care now?' 'I don't know if I should tell you what her families like, wouldn't you seem stalker-ish if you knew everything there is to know about her?' So," he coughed, to clear out the falsetto, "so she hasn't really told me much of anything about you. Nino's no help. I don't know if that's because he knows nothing or if it's because he likes watching me squirm just as much as Alya. All I knew was your name and what you looked like. Well and that you knew Alya and I assumed you were her friend." He cleared his throat again, and rushed on in a lower voice, "You were the most beautiful woman I've ever seen and Alya said you were in trouble and I just wanted to help."

"Oh." Marinette sat there for a minute before pulling the plug and getting out to dry off. God bless Alya for letting her spin the entire thing herself. And god bless Adrien for being a gullible sap easily coerced into doing something illegal to help out a pretty face. She actually felt a little bad about using him. Because if she was caught, he wouldn't be sent to jail for the usual marriage fraud. She was technically a terrorist and he could go away for life because of her. She tugged a comb through her hair and blinked at her reflection. She better be extra careful then. Finished with everything she went to open the door. Adrien fell through the doorway. She was glad she went with shorts instead of a night gown as he blinked up at her from the floor. "Sorry! I didn't think about the fact that you were leaning against the door." She reached down to help him up. "Anyway, why don't we put this on hold for tonight? I'm really beat and don't want to fall asleep on you. We can do brunch and you can ask me whatever you want?"

Adrien flashed her that brilliant smile of his. "Yeah, that sounds, great. I hope you sleep well tonight, Marinette." He gently lifted the hand he was still holding up to his lips to press a kiss to her knuckles.

"You too, Adrien," Marinette whispered, gently pulling her hand out of his grasp and clutching it to her chest. She scurried away, wondering if she could pretend that her blush was from the heat of her bath still.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 欢迎 - welcome, Mandarin  
> Bienvenue - welcome, French  
> Boulangerie - bakery, French


	2. Working out the kinks

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which details are hashed out.

Marinette was dreaming of the most beautiful and elaborate breakfast she had ever seen. Not only were there the traditional steamed buns, tofu pudding, rice porridge, and dumplings that her mother would always make, but there were croissants, pain au chocolat, café au lait, and tartines that her father would make. Then there were crazy things that she'd never eaten for breakfast before: bacon, sausage, lots of eggs cooked in lots of different ways, waffles, pancakes, cottage cheese, churros, so much fruit, and so many different cereals. There were even foods for which she had no name. She felt like she was wandering through an international breakfast-palooza. She was fairly certain that the drool on her chin was real and would be on her pillow when she woke up. She reached out for the café au lait and her hand bumped into the night stand. Her phone went flying to the floor and Marinette was jolted from the food-filled heaven. Taking in her surroundings, she realized that she could smell coffee and baking bread, which undoubtedly influenced her dream. Grumbling to herself, she slumped out of bed to get ready. After a trip to the bathroom and figuring out what to wear, Marinette emerged into the living room. Adrien was bouncing around the kitchen, setting up their brunch. She was surprised to see that more than the French portion of her dream was present. It wasn't everything, not even close, but Adrien had a pot of rice porridge on the stove and she could see a bowl filled with steam buns. He was in the process of making eggs. Creeping closer, she saw watched as he slipped the spatula under one and flipped it over. It wasn't nearly as delicate or show-boaty as her father made food but he had definitely done this before. She cleared her throat to get his attention.

Adrien glanced over his shoulder. "Oh good morning!" He flipped the last egg in his pan. "I wasn't sure what you'd want, but since you said brunch I figured breakfast foods would be safe. All the eggs are over-easy so I can cook them longer if you'd like." He moved the pan off the burner and turned to face her. His giddy grin was back.

"Café au lait would be perfect to start," she mumbled, not fully awake yet. She yawned as he handed her the frothy drink. "You know, this all smells so good I was dreaming about it. And drooling. My pillow has definitely been claimed."

"I'm so glad! About the smelling good anyway. I figured I'd have a lot to live up to since you grew up in a bakery. Granted, I went out and bought the pastries, and I have a woman who likes to pay me in steamed buns, but I made everything else." He beamed again, and seemed to be vibrating on the spot.

Marinette was not awake enough for this. Coffee, coffee would help. She hummed and sat down on one of the stools. He took a step towards her. If they were on the same side of the island, she'd say he was hovering. She looked over the options. As much as she wanted just the café au lait, she figured it'd be rude to not eat something he made for her. And she's be starving in an hour. Maybe she'd nurse her drink a moment longer before she chose something.

Adrien seemed unperturbed by her grump and started talking a mile a minute. "I talked to Alya a couple hours ago, she wants to meet us for afternoon coffee where she'll 'give us the deets' for the wedding on Sunday. I think then you're supposed to go with her to the office to try on your dress and have the adjustments made. Then Father made dinner reservations for tonight. He, uh, doesn't know how spur of the moment this is so we need to convince him that we are in love. But the good news is that if we can convince him no one else should question it. Tomorrow we can go shopping for whatever clothes you need. Thursday we can go shopping for your office space. Father of course will have some things made up for you, but he won't actually do that until after your fitting today so he has your measurements. Friday night Alya has a group going out to celebrate our nuptials 'young people style.' Saturday we'll get any last minute stuff done before the wedding and Sunday will be the ceremony. And photos. I think Father might have a shoot planned actually. Hence Alya's bar hopping scheme actually being relevant. And we have an interview at some point, but I think Alya was supposed to field that for us and write it herself? I'm not sure though. Monday should calm everything down and you can do your thing. Whatever you needed to be in Paris for. How's the café au lait? Do you want anything else? Or a refill?"

Marinette passed her cup to him for a refill. And to shut him up. Hopefully. She also pointed to the steam buns and the porridge. He jumped to get her what she wanted while she slumped in her chair. It seemed while his mind was working, he mouth wasn't and it was blessedly quiet. When everything was finally set in front of her, he opened his mouth to ask something else. Marinette jumped to stop him. "You should eat something too so I don't feel lonely." She patted the seat next to her. His mouth stayed open as he glanced between her and the chair. She raised an eyebrow at him and he snapped to attention, gathering up a coissant, some eggs, a steamed bun, and coffee. He was beside her in an instant. He again opened his mouth to say something and she took the steamed bun and shoved it in. He either got the message or was ravenous. Marinette tried the porridge first, humming in delight. His recipe must be the same as her mother's. While they weren't identical, the flavors were definitely the same and it brought a little bit of home to her. She turned to observe Adrien as she continued eating at a very lethargic pace.

He raised an eyebrow at her, but at her slight head shake he focused on eating again. Looking at him now, she would profile him as a model. He was hyper conscience of where his body was and how to keep it at the most flattering of angles. His eating habits also clearly marked him as someone upper class. Polite bites, little utensil noise. Then there were his clothes. She didn't notice while tired, but examining him now, everything was perfectly tailored to his body. She already knew he was a perfect gentleman. Aside from the excessive talking, she couldn't find any flaws. And chatter could easily be attributed nerves. So why was a perfect Adonis willing to jump into an arranged marriage with a stranger that he would eventually be divorcing? He was famous to boot which meant their divorce would cause a scandal. So, why?

"We met through Alya, as pen-pals. We didn't know it at the time, but she was totally trying to set us up. We bonded over-" she glanced toward the living room- "gaming and books. We played Mechastrike?" Adrien quickly nodded. "Ok we played Mechastrike online against each other. We also take turns deciding on a book to read and then discuss when we finish. It's your turn to pick, what was the book you were reading last night?

Adrien sprang up and darted off to his bedroom. Marinette blinked and furrowed her brow. He came back clutching the book to his chest, his cheeks were crimson. "Ok, so don't laugh."

Intrigued, Marinette held her hand out for the novel. Her heart stopped. **Mysteries and Conspiracies: Detective Stories, Spy Novels and the Making of Modern Societies** _by Luc Boltanski._ How did he know? Did Alya tell him more than either of them had let on? Was this some kind of joke? "Why, why would I laugh?" she found herself asking instead of the flood of anger and confusion that was brewing.

"It's just that, models aren't really seen as intellectuals so whenever I read something like this I get teased. 'Oh Adrien, you know that's about REAL espionage and not the Hollywood stuff, right?' 'I bet he thought it was about James Bond.' It's just, I really like seeing comparisons on how or why something effects something else. I really like debating theories and working through someone else's to see if I can get the same result. Reading how Boltanski connects crime fiction to actual behaviors of society, it's just, fun. You know?" Adrien stood there, rubbing the back of his neck and looking sheepishly at the ground.

All tension flew out of her and she smiled softly. "So we are reading Boltanski right now because you are a HUGE dork," she said, turning back to her breakfast and setting the book down. "Before that we read **她们** by _任晓雯_ , which you read in the native?" She peaked to the side at him. His was still gaping about the dork comment. She tugged his arm until he sat back down. His face became downright flushed and he nodded.

"I, yeah, uh. Right, Those Girls. I actually did read that earlier this year. Translated though. I save native language reading for daily news and journals. Actually, did you know sometimes it's better to read a translated piece when you're a foreigner because it helps put the story into your own cultural perspective? You see, since we don't-"

"HUGE DORK! You read the translation and I teased you about that at first before I went on a social justice rant on how this is still happening today and we need to stop it. Which you teased me about my hero-complex. Eventually I talked about wanting to come to Paris so badly because I wanted to live where my father lived, experience his world now that my mother's gone and my father is basically alone in China. Help my father decide it's OK to move back, you know? But he'd never do it on my suggestion. You and I had talked about how hard it is to get a VISA somewhere and then you proposed and here we are."

Adrien took her hands in his, turning them both to face each other. She raised an eyebrow at him. He looked truly remorseful. "Mari, I'm so sorry about your mother. We can bond over that too, I lost mine a long time ago."

Marinette's shock came back. _What the hell, Alya!_ She was not supposed to start caring about this man. They weren't really even supposed to interact. And now she was tearing up from him losing his own mother? Whenever ago that happened? "I'm so sorry, what happened?"

"She had a brain aneurysm. She often complained of headaches, but no one thought anything of it. No one even knew she had it. One day, it ruptured and the resulting damage killed her. I was nine when it happened." Adrien's eyes started getting glassy, though he took no notice of it. He squeezed her hands and nodded at her.

Sighing, she squeeze his hands back. She couldn't tell him the truth. Her father didn't even know the full truth. "Mine was killed in a car accident. Couple weeks ago. It, it was really messy and we had to cremate her because there had been a fire and her body was, well, no one would have wanted to say good bye to her looking like that." She let herself tear up. Her father and Master Fu were the only two to have seen her cry about the loss. But she could already tell that Adrien was a creature of emotions. He pulled her into a hug and she couldn't help but smile. "Thanks. I handle it a lot better than Papa. He was absolutely devastated. It's a good thing that he is such a creature of habit with the boulangerie and all. It's what is keeping him alive I'm pretty sure." She leaned back in her chair and wrapped her arms around herself.

Adrien nibbled his lip and his face scrunched up in apprehension as he considered his next words. "I hope, well, that he doesn't become like my father. He shut down his emotions and threw himself into his work. He pushed me into a modelling career because he thought that was the best way to show he still cared about me. I'm not really on the best of terms with him because of that. When I said I haven't talked to him, well, it's been a really long time. And usually only for work. I've taken to travelling for Gabriel brand events, shows and corporate, so I can limit my contact with him as much as possible. Well and to keep up a good public relations image. I'm told that I'm a lot warmer than my father," he chuckled weakly as he picked up his fork and twisted it between his fingers.

"I have a regular customer who will report any strange behaviors so Papa can't lie to me and pretend everything is fine." She gave him a small smile. "So, when was the last time you two spoke and where have you been recently?"

"It's been, a month or two? Let's see, it was before I left for Turkey. I was going there for a show, stayed extra to actually work with the team and do an extra shoot for them. That was for about three weeks. Then I headed over to Germany for a couple weeks to help one of our offices there open a new location. And PR to make sure they weren't working on cutting ties. Then I had a 10 day trip to Portugal because Nino wanted some bro bonding time, and this part doesn't get repeated, but he was also scoping out a possible proposal spot because he thinks it's time. Alya just thinks we were at the beaches in Nice. We did spend a couple days there on the way down and on the way back to get photos to throw her off. But yeah, Père and I haven't spoken since the curt conversation about me going to Turkey. Tonight will be the first time since then." He gently set the fork back down on his plate. Turning back to her he gave her a pained grin. "Père shouldn't be that hard to convince because all he really knows about me is my work life." 

"Is it better for me to be slightly cold because I'm upset with him for the pain he's caused you or should I go the people-pleaser route and convince him that I want things to work out between him and me so it doesn't further dampen your relationship with him?" Marinette asked, in an attempt to erase the melancholy from her fiance's face.

He turned back toward the counter and started stacking up the dirty dishes. "Well, honestly whichever you actually are. I don't want this to be difficult for you." He side-eyed his plate and gently tapped on his fork, straightening it's position in relation to the knife and spoon.

Marinette's eye twitched. She was starting to reconsider her stance on his home. Maybe he was just a perfectionist and that's why everything was so pristine. Glancing at the stove showed that there weren't any spots of spilled food. Either his cooking was just as impeccable or he already wiped it up. "I'll be slightly cold then, but I'm an actress so there's no need to worry about this being hard."

"Oh that makes sense for the VISA then. Actors aren't really an "in demand" job that qualifies an employer paying for you to stay here," he said as he stood up and took the dishes over to the sink. She blinked at him. That... really did make sense. See, this is why she liked winging it. It made details just flow when they needed to. She refocused on his eyes and saw they were shining in mirth. "It explains you so well actually. You're beautiful, charismatic, really involved with society around you," he added, letting the end just sort of hang in the air between him. Then she noticed it. That wasn't mirth in his eyes. It was honest to god love. He really, truly loved her.

She gulped and picked up the book again. "Well, how about I get all caught up while you clean up? Then we can talk some more before we have coffee with Alya?" she asked, hoping he couldn't notice the pitchy-ness of her voice.

"Sounds purrfect!"

Did he just?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> pain au chocolat - chocolate stuffed bread  
> café au lait - coffee with milk  
> tartine - toast with jam  
> 她们 by 任晓雯 - Those Girls by Ren Xiaowen


	3. Coffee with Alya

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Marinette get's no satisfaction and Alya is entirely too pleased with herself.

Coffee with Alya did not go as Marinette had hoped. The girl in question was sitting at an outside table when they pulled up. Adrien slipped out of the car first and held a hand out for her. Glaring daggers at the red head's jubilant grin did nothing. Not willing to cave so quickly, she welcomed Adrien's assistance only because it allowed her to focus completely on her friend. This was a war, she was going to need something to counter act the redheads lethal information. Instinctively wrapping her arm around Adrien's, they strode forward.

"Hey lovebirds! I am honestly surprised that you actually showed up. Though I suppose someone is excited to try on her 'Gabriel' original." Two faces turned differing shades of crimson. Alya's grin, if possible, had gotten bigger, bolder. She patted the table. Before Marinette could even reach out, Adrien was already pulling her chair back for her. A glance at Alya showed an even more maniacal countenance. Marinette rolled her eyes as she sat. 

"Ha. Ha. You are cracking me up," she deadpanned at her friend. Alya opened her mouth to respond, but a waitress stepped up to their table. Orders taken, Marinette turned back to the joke made at her expense. "Besides, Adrien and I are waiting for the wedding night," she sassed and grabbed his hand to interlace their fingers. "You know that."

Adrien coughed. Two faces turned to his and he quickly looked off, inspecting the traffic.

"You know," Alya started. "That blush crawling down your fiance's neck tells me that that is a lie."

"ALYA!"

Alya chortled. Adrien flinched as Marinette's grip tightened. She glanced at him and relaxed. Clearing her throat, she started again. "Alya, stop. I'm revoking best friend privileges until you can learn to behave."

"OK, OK. But you should know you two are adorable." Glare. "Anyway, I'm sure Adrien already gave you the schedule for the week. I'll need to clarify a few deets with you before I submit my article for your 'interview' with the press. On Sunday, well, I won't go into too many details because you will basically just do what you're told to do as it comes up. Mostly just be prepared to smile at strangers all day and have SO MANY pictures taken. There are individual photos before, the ceremony itself, couple shots after. Then a small photo shoot that Gabriel will be dressing you for. You'll end in your evening dress for the reception. No reporters are being allowed into the dinner, except myself as your maid of honor of course." Alya paused to ask their waitress for a scone. Marinette noted that Adrien hadn't touched his coffee yet. Before she could ask him about it, she realized that she had been holding both of his hands. When had that happened? She shot him a guilty smile and let go so she could sip her own cooling cup. Alya definitely noticed the exchange. The corner of her mouth twitched up. Before Marinette could try to defend herself, the red head continued. "You are expected to stay until at least midnight, so no sneaking off early!" She frowned at the lack of blushing. "And that's the general layout for Sunday."

"And why exactly are we having coffee with you to go over things if you aren't even going to tell us anything?" Marinette huffed.

"Yeah, Alya. I could have figured all of that out. I do still get extensive schedule's from father's secretary. Actually, Nathalie's schedule would have clued me in more than this conversation," Adrien said raising his hand up for the waitress. He held out a card for her and she blushed as her fingers brushed his. He didn't seem to notice as he turned back to the women at the table. "Was the purpose of this just to tease us?"

Alya sighed and leaned on her hands, skewing her glasses. She didn't bother to fix them as she said, "I am hurt. Hurt, Adrien! You know I love you. Why would you accuse me of being so dastardly?" Twin snorts had her jumping up from the table. "Hey! I am a good friend! You two wouldn't even know each other if it weren't for me!" she exclaimed, jabbing herself in the chest with her thumb.

"Jeeze, who put a bee in your bonnet? What, can dish it but can't take it?" Marinette asked.

Adrien seemed to snap up at that. Before either could ask what that was, he started talking. "To bee honeystly, I beelieve that she can't stand not beeing in control," Adrien said, cracking only the smallest smile. Marinette's jaw dropped and she blinked at him. His mouth morphed into a shit eating grin and she smacked him.

Alya shook her head, the glint back in her eye. "Now, not to cut this little nerd mating ritual short, but Gabriel will have a conniption if we're late."

Adrien sighed and shook his head. "I know when I'm not wanted. Don't worry though, I'll make like a tree and leaf." Marinette groaned as she stood while Alya laughed. He gave Marinette a quick hug, whispering that he'd see her later. He sauntered off as if all eyes were on him and winked at Marinette before ducking into the same car that had dropped them off. When she whirled to pounce on her best friend, she noted that, yes, many eyes had been on his rather fine assets. And now they were turned to her in jealousy. Alya simply pulled her off to their own waiting car. 

"Alya, there is a lot for you to explain and it had better make damn fine sense or I will utilize 20 years worth of training on your ass."

"Oh don't get your panties in a twist. He's sexy and you like it." Marinette huffed as she slipped into the vehicle. Alya pulled a folder out from under the driver's seat and sifted through it's contents.

"Puns, Alya? He is a MASSIVE dork! He's currently reading a book about how crime stories have influenced society because, and I quote, he 'likes to debate theories.' He lives in a penthouse with a hot tub and a fully stocked bar and neither of them have been used. By him or any guests." Marinette's arms swung around to validate her points and she kept a steady glare on her friend. Alya was completely non-pulsed by it all.

"OK, when I said sexy, I meant by your standards, not mine." Marinette started coughing from how hard she gasped at that. Alya shook her head, chuckling. "Come on! 'Oh Alya, any guy for me would have to be so witty. So worldly and smart. Banter. Banter is what makes for good conversation, Alya. Did you know puns are the highest form of wit?'"

"That's.... that's NOT... what i was..." Marinette mumbled, looking anywhere but at her best friend.

"Mari, I could keep going, but we both know you wanna jump him and to be honest, I'm surprised you didn't ask him to join your bath last night."

"What! Where did you hear about that? Do you have a tap on Adrien's bedroom?" _Can I get access to that?_

"Girl! The dude and I spoke this morning while you were drooling on your pillow." Marinette started flailing again and Alya had to pull the folder tight against herself to make sure nothing was caught in the cross fire. "You have told me REPEATEDLY in the past how you pass out after any long flight. You have also told me that when you pass out, you always end up drooling. So stop it."

Flailing subsided and Marinette took a calming breathe. Alya raised an eyebrow and gestured to the folder. Marinette shook her head. "First, I need to know. Why Adrien? Why did you choose a man who is so obviously in love with me?"

"Wait, who ever said he's in love with you?"

"He won't stop calling me beautiful and all the blushing and he's so chivalrous. Like, he drew me a bubble bath because I mumbled in my sleep about soaking on the way back from the airport. I could have been dreaming about food but he took in in the most romantic sense possible." Alya snorted and quickly covered her mouth. "And don't get me started on our conversation about our deceased mothers!"

"Ok look, girly, Adrien was like, raised by a gentleman's guidebook. I'm fairly certain. Also he's trying to impress you because you ARE freaking gorgeous. Something you should know about Adrien is he THRIVES off of positive attention. He's like, a little puppy. Glance at him and he goes crazy trying to make you happy. Don't think I didn't see the security camera's from the airport. I saw how cozy you two got. All that snuggling and the warm hug and blushing smiles went straight to his heart. Basically you weren't told you were going fishing, showed up with a tree branch and some twine, and still got the best catch hook, line, and sinker. I can tell you the whole story when we have more time, but he loved your photo and his white knight mode turned on when I said you needed help. Good enough?"

"But... how did it even come up? Why would you tell him?"

"Because we hang out? He's one of my best friends. Granted, it started because of me dating Nino. But we did a lot of group stuff because Adrien didn't HAVE other friends and Nino begged me to not make him bail on him. He worked so much that Nino and I had plenty of alone time. We really clicked though when we got to know each other. I like debating things with him. He always has something to contribute AND he will concede to me when he thinks I have the better point. That always makes Nino grumble," Alya giggled. She looked like she was going to keep going to Marinette cut her off.

"So be honest, did you agree because you thought I'd fall in love with him?"

"Isn't he better than mystery man you always go on about? You seriously don't know anything about that guy except him talking to you. What if he's an enemy? What if he works for Papillon?"

Marinette sighed. She often regretted ever letting anything slip to Alya about Chat Noir. But, he always helped her. Whether it was intel or remote computer magic, he always seemed to have SOMETHING for every mission she went on. Though, that was because he always had a bug on her or hacked into the devices she had. She wasn't sure how he did it. She hated him at first, because of the threat to her profession. "I just, I have to think about this."

"Then shall we continue?"

Leaning on one hand, Marinette nodded.

"Thank you. We don't have much more time. Important points: Gabriel must have no reason to suspect you of marrying his son for any reason other than love. You need to be extra fucking gentle with Adrien on account that he's a puppy and Nino's best bro. Papillon was last sighted three days before you came, so we won't be hearing much from him for a couple weeks. The sighting involved a prostitute who was saying his name too much whose corpse was later found in the Seine. Official autopsy says suicide. Unofficial says heroine overdose with a suicide cover-up. You won't be able to see anything on that case. There isn't enough to actually tie Papillon to the prostitute at all so we were lucky to get the unofficial." Alya looked up at her friends somber face. "You have a lot of work ahead of you." She nodded to the building they were pulling up to. "But you won't be able to do anything if hot stuff's over protective father calls you a floosie. So go in there and become a beautiful, blushing bride."

Marinette looked over the sleek building. A younger version of herself might have been giddy about this. Even to just walk into the building and see how the fashion industry ticked. But to be able to actually obtain not only a Gabriel original design, but her very own wedding dress? Young Marinette would be dying right now. So that was the emotion she'd use. It spurred her to jump out of the car in a rush. Then, to keep with the show, she calmed down and straightened her clothes. Inhale. Exhale. Play the part. She turned to close the door and was surprised to see Alya hanging out of it. Her head tilted to the left and her brows furrowed. Alya just grinned. "By the way, when I get you access to the tap on Adrien's bedroom, do you want the past three months' sound files or just here on out?" Marinette's body shot ramrod straight as all of her blood soared into her face. Alya's guffaws could be heard even after the car pulled back into traffic.


	4. Meet the Maker

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which fashion gets a spotlight.

Marinette was whisked away the moment she walked through the door. She was led to a brightly lit room with a raised platform off in the corner, half surrounded by mirrors. It looked more like a work room than a production one. There were only two people in there and the receptionist that led her there bolted before either of them could look at her. Curious, Marinette turned back to the man and woman. She had no idea who the woman was. Her hair was black with a portion highlighted red and pulled back into a severe bun. Her coral blue eyes were obstructed by square, frame-less lenses. The man was obviously Gabriel Agreste. Though, he looked nothing like her fiance. While both were blonde, Adrien was more like direct sunshine and his father was more like reflected off the moon. Gabriel's face was long and rectangular where as his son's was much rounder. Adrien had to have his mother's eye since his were meadow green and the man before her had eyes like an icy lake. Those chilly waters were pinned to her. She plastered a smile on and walked over. "Hello. My name is-"

"You are late. Did you wear appropriate underwear?" the woman asked, not even looking up from the tablet in her hands.

Marinette looked at her phone. _4:58pm_ "I'm sorry, Alya said I needed to be here by 5:00pm. And no one mentioned what style the bodice was so I din't know what I would need." _Not that I have any fancy bras with me anyway. I wasn't supposed to be having an ACTUAL wedding..._

"You will come to learn that early isn't even on time with this organization," she said, finally looking up as she adjusted her glasses. "Strip."

Marinette never appreciated being treated as anything less than an equal. Except by a shifu SHE had chosen for training she needed. She was glad now that Adrien told her she could be herself. "I'd rather see if I even like what the dress looks like first." She cocked a hip to rest her hand on and alternated glares between the coral and icy eyes.

The woman bristled, but Gabriel simple cocked his head. "Adrien never mentioned your tastes. I took that as liberty to make what I deemed appropriate for your looks." He nodded and, though she looked extremely sour, the woman left.

"And when exactly did you ask Adrien about what I wanted."

"Hmm." Gabriel squinted his eyes as he took a few steps forward. He mumbled something and circled her, appraising the shape of her body. She kept her stance, not wanting him to think she might fear him. "You are much more petite than the image implied. We may have to start over anyway. Or maybe, well no, but..." He trailed off until the woman returned with a very large garment bag held up high so the dress didn't drag. "Nathalie. Go fetch the bridal line. I need to compare a few details." He plucked the dress from her and she scurried off again. "Let's see how big this is on you."

Marinette narrowed her eyes. "You aren't very polite, are you."

"Miss Dupain-Cheng. We do not have time for pleasantries. We need to leave here at 5:45 so we are not late for our dinner reservations. Unless you'd rather get married in something you can get off rack, I advise you to strip so we can get this over with." Gabriel unzipped the garment bag and pulled the dress out. Marinette huffed but started stripping as told. She left on her thong, but took off her strapped, pink bra. Looking back at Gabriel, she stilled. Her mouth fell open as she took in the gown. It was strapless and form-fitting from the chest down to the knees. Then it flared out slightly and ended at her feet. There was a train connected on the back of the dress from the top spreading out almost like a cape down to the floor with extra to trail behind. The outer most layer of fabric was all lace. Except, instead of the traditional flowery type patterns, there were Chinese dragons surrounded with waves, clouds, and flames. Pastel beads and sequins were added to make glinting eyes, shiny waters, and crackling fires. After some maneuvering, Gabriel revealed the zipper hidden inside the train. He gathered everything up and moved over to Marinette. She lifted her arms straight up and crouched slightly so he didn't have to bring the dress so high up. He dropped it around her and she straightened. It was definitely too loose, even after he found the zipper again. The length should be just fine with 3" or 4" heels. The needed changes weren't much different than if she had gotten off rack instead.

Gabriel directed her over to the mirrored stage. He grabbed a slim box and set it down for her to stand on. She figured it was the height of the shoes she's be wearing. Checking the mirror, the skirt just skimmed the ground. She turned to get the full effects of the back of the dress now that it was on her. Gabriel was straightening out the train. Nathalie came back pushing a cart of dresses. She left them off to the side and walked out of the line of sight the mirror gave Marinette. When she came back she had pins, measuring tape, and chalk. Gabriel stepped in front of Marinette. He took the pins and told her not to move. After all the tugging and marking and the accidental prick, both of them carefully lifted the dress off of her. Then, Gabriel started measuring her body, calling out numbers that Nathalie tapped into her tablet. He had her put her bra back on and retook her chest measurements.

"I'll have Monique's team get started on the wardrobe for Sunday's shoot," Nathalie said, tapping away. Gabriel nodded and turned to the rack of gowns. He flicked through them, pulled one out, put it back, and finally brought one over to Marinette. This one had sleeves, so she could leave her bra on. It also wasn't nearly so ostentation. She slipped into it and found the fit wasn't nearly as loose as the other gown had been. Nathalie took done some notes as Gabriel circled and muttered.

Satisfied, he let her get dressed into her own clothes again. Nathalie took the dress and removed the cart of dresses from the area. Gabriel turned and started walking out the door. Marinette frowned but when it was obvious that he wasn't going to come back, she hurried after him. She was pleasantly surprised when they got to the car out front and he opened the door for her, gesturing for her to get in. She expected one of the doormen to follow them out or the driver to come open it. They were quiet as the car merged into the oncoming traffic. She couldn't decide what to ask him when he broke the silence between them.

"What game are you playing, Ms. Dupain-Cheng?"

Damn. Rude and already pulling some punches. "Game? You mean, like this game of life where I try to find my purpose and hope there's some happiness with someone amazing tried up with it?" she questioned with a stiff smile.

Gabriel shifted and glared at her side-long for a moment. Then he cleared his throat and adjusted his cravat. "I mean this game where you marry my son for ambiguous reasons that will eventually decimate his fragile soul and bring shame to the Agreste family name."

Marinette was proud of herself. She didn't sputter. She didn't flail. She didn't sock him in his stuck up little nose. "My ambiguous reason happens to be love, thanks for asking. Adrien isn't a child, I'm sure if something did happen he wouldn't be decimated. And the only shame the Agreste family name has is the fact that the elders don't seem to actually care about the youth." Ok, so she still let the venom out, but she kept her words pristine.

Gabriel didn't even flinch. "And how do you expect me to believe that you are truly in love with him? Hmm? I have never heard Adrien mention you before. He's never even hinted at seeing someone. Why should I believe that there's a deep relationship with a woman who suddenly needs a VISA?" he asked, still not looking directly at her.

Now Marinette understood why Adrien and Alya both pushed that convincing Gabriel would convince everyone else. She forced herself to go rigid and clenched her teeth as she said, "And you actually care enough about his life to notice such things?" He didn't respond. Narrowing her eyes, she tried again. "Do you even know what he's been up to lately?"

"I don't need to prove anything to you. In fact, it's the other way around," he responded. His voice was even; his posture, relaxed. He pulled his phone out to look at something.

"You're right. You don't have to prove anything to me." She turned forward and pulled out her own phone. After texting the only two Parisian numbers she had, she started an email to her father.

Gabriel finally turned to her. She couldn't be sure because she refused to look directly at him just yet, but she thought she saw his mouth twitch. "So that's it? You give up on marrying my son?"

"Hmm? Why of course not. I'm going to marry Adrien on Sunday no matter what you say. And if you don't want to actually hear me out then I'm not going to waste my breath." A text from Alya came back, she ignored it and continued her email.

"What makes you think you'll be able to marry him if I don't approve?" he asked. His voice was curious more so than angry. He had turned fully towards her by now.

She followed suit and let the hand holding her phone fall to her lap. "I'm sorry, is Adrien not an adult who can make his own decisions? I ALSO happen to be an adult who makes her own decisions. And we have chosen each other, for better or worse, in sickness and in health, for long as we both shall live, till death do us part. I don't care what you think of me. Adrien has repeatedly expressed that you are NOT an ultimatum for him, so I don't care if you hate me."

"And you don't mind losing out on the benefits being connected to me would give you?" His eyebrow rose with his question.

She snorted. Covering her mouth, she answered, "No. I want to get wherever I'm going by my own hard work. And no, I didn't seek out Adrien for a connection. I didn't know anything about him when I first started talking to him. Alya conveniently refused to clue me in until long after our relationship was established." _After I had already gotten naked in his home and was busy making a mess of his bathroom to be exact._

"Hmm..."

Marinette frowned, but instead of elaborating, Gabriel turned back to his phone. Not to be out done, she turned back to her own and they ignored each other for the rest of the car ride. Upon their arrival, Gabriel proved once again that he had the same code of chivalry as his son and not only held the door for her, but took her arm and escorted her inside. The hostess led them straight to a waiting Adrien. Who looked rather nervous if Marinette was being completely honest. She sent him a smile. He jumped up and pulled her seat out for her. Her smile widened and she murmured her thanks as she sat down.

"Good evening monsieurs and mademoiselle. We have a chilled bottle of the house white for the table. Would you care for anything else to start off with?" Gabriel shook his head. "Very well, I shall return with the first course."

Silence.

Marinette's eye twitched. Glancing at Adrien showed that he was still completely nervous and demure. Gabriel was complete ice, reading something on his phone with a slight frown and squinted eyes. Though, the last bit was probably from poor vision more than anything else. She decided to continue with her own cold shoulder and turned back to her fiance. "What were you up to?"

Gabriel didn't seem to react but Adrien jumped in surprise. Of course, he didn't know how their conversation went and therefor didn't know what mood they were in. She wondered if the blatantly ignoring each other was a sufficient clue. "I just cleaned up and read some more."

She gave an exasperated sigh. "I am never going to get ahead of you am I? What chapter are you on now?"

He chuckled at her and the expression in his eyes shifted. There it was. That was love and Alya could shove it. Before he could answer, Gabriel cut him off. "This is cute and all, but not sufficient to convince me." Adrien frowned and shifted his gaze between the two of them. He started fidgeting with the silverware on the table. Marinette let the irritation show on her face, but kept her smile. Adrien started to stutter out a response but froze when Gabriel looked him in the eye. Pissed, Marinette turned to glare at him.

"What is your problem? I told you, I don't care about you. Obviously you don't want to give me a chance. Can't we just have a civil meal? Make sure we don't tarnish your good reputation?" Her voice was steady and quiet, but the anger glinted in her eyes. The lines between acting and reality were starting to blur. She wasn't sure if it was her feelings for Adrien stirring up at his defense or because of how fond Alya was of him. Either way, it didn't matter right now because Gabriel was giving her the reaction she wanted. He was finally showing some emotion. Anger went with his eyes just as well as the indifference had.

"My problem is that you aren't even trying to prove that you love my son. You are just being snippy and defensive. Evasive. You are being evasive so that I don't notice how you don't actually care about him," he retaliated. His voice was just as steady and quiet. Obviously he had fought in public before. Just then the waiter returned with the appetizers and Gabriel and Adrien's faces both shifted to bland indifference. It was eerie how similar it was. Adrien had to take after his mother in appearances, but this just put the nail in the coffin that his mannerisms came from his father. Explained why his kitchen was so sterile. Every time Gabriel had dropped a pin, he had stopped to find it instead of leaving it for whoever cleaned at night or even simply for later when they were all done.

Marinette thanked the waiter before he walked away and turned back to her future father-in-law. "You never even wanted to give me a chance. You've been rude to me since you first laid eyes on me. Instead of asking me anything about your son to prove why I love him, you just accused me of cheating him for a VISA and went on the defensive. Of course I became defensive and evasive. I don't pander, Mr. Agreste. If you wanted me to explain what it is I love about your son, or what passions we share, or even asked evasive questions to find out just how long we've been talking to each other, then I would have played your game. Jumping down my throat about how insincere I am before I've even said anything just tells me that you don't care and will never give me a chance. And I'm not wasting my time with that. Now we can do this little publicity shot and I will give you smiles and cheer for the press and whatever it is you want to boost your image. Or, I can storm out of here and we can really give them something to talk about. Either way, I still intend on marrying your son."

Adrien was shifting between looks of awe at his fiance and looks of fear at his father. Gabriel calmly sampled the squid before him. Chewing, he gave her a thoughtful look. He swallowed and said, "And what, pray-tell, will you do if Adrien has decided he doesn't want to marry you any more?"

"Father, I-"

"Hush, Adrien."

Adrien's gaze fell to his plate. He carefully took a bite of his own squid, but didn't bother looking up again.

Marinette let the malice flavor her words as she watched her fiance. "Well, if that were the case, which I can tell it isn't-" Adrien shot her with a very relieved smile. Her lips quirked up for a moment, then she turned to Gabriel "-then I would pack up and return to my province. I am here because of one reason. Adrien and I are going to start a life together. Unless Adrien no longer wants me come Sunday, it's going to be 'til death do us part.'" Her lie detector in her brain lit up. _Um... do you really want to be saying that right now? **Shut up, brain, no body asked you.**_

"Father, I suggest you decide which evening you'd prefer. Because if we are going to storm out, we should do it before the waiter returns with the salads so you don't waste any money." Marinette could have cheered and beamed at him. She didn't, because breaking eye contact would give Gabriel the upper hand. But boy, did she want to.

Speaking of the devil, the waiter came up and started to ask how the appetizers were. Marinette hadn't even touched hers. His words were choked out by the tension. He quickly gathered the plates and scurried away. Gabriel blinked. Picking up his glass of wine, he swirled, sniffed, then sipped. Smacking his lips like he was at a wine tasting instead of a five start restaurant, he set his glass back down. "Is this your first time in Paris?"

"Uh..." _So, are you going to lie now, too? **SHUT IT!**_

"You should make sure Adrien takes you sight seeing before Sunday. I tried to convince Alya that we needed a more ornate venue, but she insisted that you wouldn't want to mix touristy places with your cherished wedding day. She agreed to let me pick the church after the Notre Dame was removed from the options." Just like that, the rest of the meal dissolved into pleasant chit-chat. The food, now that Marinette was actually having some of it, lived up to it's five stars. Though she was fairly certain her uncle made better roast duck.

As they left, Gabriel strode ahead and opened Marinette's door for her (she was already on Adrien's arm). When she leaned down to slip in, Gabriel's hand touched her shoulder. Glancing at him, she was hit with a poisonous glare. "I will accept you for now, Ms. Dupain-Cheng. But my guard is up. This is your only warning." She slumped into the car and he closed her door with too hard a slam. She gaped at him, letting Adrien pull her seat belt across her and buckling her in when she wouldn't respond. Looks like Ladybug was no longer the only side of her to have an arch enemy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the dress that I altered to make Mari's in this chapter. 
> 
> http://www.zuhairmurad.com/corporate3/images/3730/zuhairmurad-bridal-ss16_16.jpg?width=1390
> 
> Adrien doesn't get enough sweets in his life, so I see him ordering white wines because Gabriel wouldn't think of it as a treat.


	5. Sugar-daddy Adrien Agreste

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which three women help Adrien spend way too much money before everyone get's rekt.
> 
> Ok so I only liked part of my shopping trips so I decided to revamp them and combine all three days. So.... this chapter is a little long... Enjoy!

The next few days were a whirlwind. Wednesday proved that Adrien was in fact an energetic puppy. He woke her up at five fucking o'clock in the god damn morning with a thousand words a minute as he went on about what stores they were going to and Alya this and Ollie that and she could not understand as he bounced around and tried to explain something about bras. She started throwing whatever she could get her hands on until he got the picture and left. It started with pillows. He seemed to get the memo, not with her phone flying somewhere out into the hallway but rather when she tried to lug the lamp at him. She was unsuccessful with that one. Shouldn't rich people have fancy cordless lamps? By the time she finally made it through two coffees and could open her eyes without them grating like sand paper (damn wine, she had like two glasses!), she was able to comprehend the day's schedule. Turns out it wasn't Ollie though. It was Chloe. Apparently, she was his childhood friend who was good with fashion? Like having a fashion model along wasn't good enough... She got dressed in something easy to take off and made sure that the first stop was for bras so she could get one with detachable straps. Then they could make sure everything for the rest of the day fit her properly.

Chloe was not what Marinette had expected. Granted, her caffeinated stupor didn't really expect anything. But bitchy, whiny, rich girl would never have been on her list of Adrien's close friends. Actually, she never would have put that on his list of distant friends either. Acquaintances sure, something would be up if all the models he ever worked with were nice and down to Earth. Not that she'd ever blame a model for being bitchy or whiny. Marinette was a monster without coffee. Who knows what she'd become if you stopped letting her eat too. But someone close enough to Adrien to be guaranteed a spot in his wedding? Never would have guessed.

Turns out he had to trick her into accept not being the maid of honor though. He and Alya set it up that he'd ask her to be his best man, wearing a tuxedo of course. When she had refused, they woefully told her that Alya had already been asked and agreed to being the maid of honor. At that point, Chloe didn't care as long as she 'didn't have to parade around like an ape.' Nino of course had already been asked to be his best man. He knew that the deceit was for the greater good. There were three other people in the wedding party that she would meet Friday night. Max and Ivan for the men. Rose for the woman. There were some apparent hard feelings about that. Alya wanted Ivan's wife to be the third bridesmaid, but Chloe complained that they already had to wear a dress that would look good on the curvy red-head and the skinny blonde. There was no WAY they were going to find a dress to go well on a pregnant woman with wild colored hair. So, this Rose person was chosen instead.

At the first store they went to, Chloe insisted on her trying on everything they looked at. Even if it was horrible. She was very much of the philosophy that you must start with what is horribly wrong so when you find the perfect item, you literally feel the difference.

”Oh my god, Chloe I am not putting on that puke orange sweater. You realize how sick I’d look, right?”

To Alya and Marinette’s surprise, Adrien jumped in to back up his friend. “Actually, I have to agree with Chloe. I mean, maybe not about that sweater in particular. But you need to work your way up to what’s actually good,” he said, lips twisting into a sheepish smile.

”You have got to be kidding. What, is this some kind of fashion world trick that I’ve never heard of before?” Alya asked, picking out a bad, but not horrendous, top and adding it to Marinette’s stack.

”Ugh, I wish!” Chloe answered, snapping her gum and throwing a dress and another sweater on the pile. “No it’s more of a weeb thing.” Marinette almost missed the end of that with how fast Chloe was booking it to the next section. Raising a quizzical eyebrow with Alya, she turned to her personal clothing rack.

”Weeb, as in, weebo? As in obsessed with anime?” Marinette took the top six items from him and started meandering to the dressing rooms.

”OH MY GOD! Does Chloe like anime? I would have never guessed!” Alya cried out, bouncing a little at her new blackmailing opportunities.

”She doesn’t LIKE it,” Adrien quickly defended, as he delicately set the clothes down on a chair outside the changing stall. “It’s just, if we do stuff she likes, we have to do stuff I like. I stick to more family friendly stuff with her though. Like Miyazaki and Sailor Moon.”

”How is bloody wolf princess trying to rescue a severed head family friendly?” Marinette asked, slipping into the stall. Silence. “Um… Adrien?”

”Sorry babe, Adrien.exe has stopped functioning. You’ll have to wait while I reboot the system.” Alya’s voice drifted over the door. Marinette frowned and stepped out in the first (ugly) outfit she needed to try on. Adrien was gaping like a fish while Alya poked his cheeks and giggled.

”Adrien?” Marinette tried again and reached a hand out to cup his face.

He grabbed onto her hand with one of his and with the other pulled her face to his so their foreheads rested against each other. “Marry me?” he whispered, love radiating from his eyes again.

”Pfft, how does Sunday sound?” Marinette gasped out between giggles.

”Sounds purrrrfect!” he answered. He continued to laugh as she groaned and tried to push him away. He quickly shifted his arms down to her waist and held on to her tighter. She started tickling his sides and he clamped down on her as he tried to control his giggling and spasms. When that proved to be ineffective, he fell to the ground, pulling her on top of him.

”Oh my god, please stop. Like, legit. This canNOT happen again while I’m with you guys,” Chloe griped as she grimaced at them squirming on the floor. “And that just looks hideous. You need to try this on immediately.” With Alya’s help, they hauled them off the floor and Chloe shoved Marinette back into the changing room with the hangers she had been holding.

”Sorry, Chlo,” Adrien whispered, tugging his shirt back into place and patting at his hair.

”Ugh, just, never again. And if you don’t hurry up in there, I’m coming in to help. We have a schedule to keep!” Chloe snapped.

”You know, I wouldn’t be taking so long if I didn’t try on so many HORRIBLE outfits first!” she answered, coming back out in something equally horrendous as the orange sweater had been.

”Ok fine, we can cut back on the bad outfits. God, that looks awful. Here, try something actually good.” Chloe dug through their pile of clothes and tossed a couple things at her. She in turn handed all of the clothes in the stall to Alya. Adrien started picking through what was on the chair to put away the bad outfits. They toned back on how much they tried after that. Chloe still insisted on finding the worst outfit for Marinette to try on first at each store though.

The day was long and every time they checked out Marinette cringed at the totals. While spy work did more than pay the bills, she could never justify spending so much money. Repeatedly. The same thing happened on Thursday when they went to get her the things she'd need for her "office." As she was going to moonlight as an actress, there actually wasn't that much she should actually need for the space. However, for tracking down a human trafficking, drug lord with several counts of treason and terrorism against him, she would need bare minimum a fully stocked office space. Desk, really nice chair, beautiful computer, everything ergonomically adjusted to her proportions of course, paper, pens, clips, highlighters, a printer. They had spent (almost) as much money as they had the day before when they got her clothes. Chloe had been along for that trip too, as well as Nino for part of the day. Not that Marinette could figure out WHY anyone besides Adrien needed to be there. (Really, she should have paid for all of this stuff to get shipped from her father's house anyway instead of buying new.) Alya told her to just suck it up and bond.

Which turned out to be quite beneficial once Friday night rolled around and they went out for drinks for 'the young people party' as Alya called it. Marinette was glad she could put a few names with faces having heard numerous stories about people the previous two days. Which made remembering everyone's names that much easier. However, she had been told there would be food with the drinks, so she did the shot with everyone else when they arrived and threw back a glass of whisky on the rocks when her honor was on the line shortly there after. Well into her white Russian she realized they hadn't even gotten to a place that SERVED real food yet and she was going to be wasted if she didn't do something about that right now.

"Adrieeeeeeen!" she whined. Which really proved to her just how much alcohol was stealing away the space oxygen needed in her brain. She had tried to be loud without yelling and ended up pitchy and whiny. Kim started ribbing him for being whipped. Her heels decided to revolt and she teetered before collapsing against him.

"Whoa there princess, maybe you need to slow down," he chuckled. The panic in his eyes betrayed the humorous tone as he tried to take her drink.

"You promised there would be food! There is no bread to eat; give me cake!" _No wait, that's not how that goes._ "Adrieeeeeeen!" _Damn it!_

"Calm your tits girl. Dinner is at stop two. If you were so hungry, maybe you should have subjected yourself to more ribbing instead of slamming down three drinks the second we got here," Alya cajoled. Several other giggled and and the delicate pink one burst forward. Rose. Rose burst forward.

*Giggle* "Yeah! I mean, I'm as tiny as you are. I know better than to drink liquor like it's water!" she exclaimed before she giggled again and fell back onto her girlfriend. She had opted for a Shirley Temple after the shot and was still nursing it.

Marinette pouted. She teetered again and really wished Chloe hadn't talked her into the six inch stilettos. 'But your ass will look great!' Fuck that. Her ass was going to be bared to the world if she didn't eat something and regain her sense of balance. "I may only be 50 kilos of muscle, but a Dupain knows how to hold their liquor!" she cried out in triumph, pumping a fist into the air. Everyone laughed, but Marinette slumped a little, remorseful when she realized there was no one there for the followup.

"I call bull!" the feisty pink one called out. Alix. _Damn it._ "You couldn't weigh more that 45 soaking wet. And I might as well call bull on the 'all muscle's while I'm at it. I bet you don't even lift!"

Marinette's eyes blurred, then refocused on the girl who was only shorter that her because she was in sneakers. She smirked. "What's the wager?"

"Oooo! She's gonna do it! Let's see what light weight's got!" Kim barked out, laughing and smacking poor Max on the back. He stumbled forward and frowned at the sole reason behind Marinette being so wasted at the start of the night.

"Winner's choice," Alix answered, extremely cocky ask Marinette continued to teeter on her heels. "I wanna see you do a body-shot off of Cupcake if I win," she added. Marinette raised an eyebrow, swaying as she followed the finger jabbed at her fiance.

"Pfft!" _All you needed to do was ask._ "Okay dokie. Then I want... I wanna trade shoes with you the rest of the night if I win!" she responded with glee, bouncing a little at the thought of getting out of her shoes.

Resounding 'ooo's' came from the group. "Wow, Kubdel. She's barely known you 10 minutes and she's got the best bet on you ever!" Ivan cried out, smacking a hand against his thigh. His other arm was protectively around his wife, who was the night's DD for if anything bad happened.

Mylène leaned against her husband's chest and bounced excitedly. "And she's been almost completely sauced the entire time too!" She giggled again and unconsciously rubbed at her bump.

"You should back out now, Alix. Marinette's feet are disgustingly tiny. It took forever to find shoes small enough to fit!" Chloe complained, not really looking up as she buffed her nails and leaned against the bar. Her lackey, erm, friend Sabrina was holding her drink to free up her hands for the action.

Unadulterated rage shone from Alix's eyes and she blindly found Marinette's hand and shook it. "You trying to call me weak, Bourgeois!" she cried out as her entire frame trembled. Which caused Marinette to topple into Adrien again as she still hadn't won the war against gravity.

"More like I spent 8 hours of my Wednesday watching her try on clothes and know exactly what that little black dress is hiding. Don't let her dainty arms fool you. She could probably even bench Adrien," Chloe added, trying to keep a disinterest in her voice. Many of the others caught on that they were in for a show.

Alix couldn't see past the rage though and turned to Adrien. "Agreste! On the floor. Now!" she barked. He shook his head with a small grin on his face. He tilted Marinette to fall towards Nino and carefully got on the floor. Alix hooked one hand under his upper arm, right at the armpit. With the other she gripped his upper thin. She was just a hair away from his crotch. After a deep inhale and exhale, she grunted and heaved. She was only able to get him about half a meter up. Which was beneficial for him since she dropped him in her excitement. "Beat that, Marshmallow!"

No one joined in her jubilant cheers. Instead they all focused on the Asian woman swaying as she unhooked her shoes. She elongated her entire body, toes to fingertips in one long line, before crouching down to ask Adrien if he was ok. He winced but smiled at her. She stood back up and warmed her body up with a few stretches. Her skirt halted her squat and she simply hiked it up. Which brought her dangerously close to revealing the color of the lingerie she was wearing. She placed her hands where Alix had, then all of the drunk wobbling vanished. In so smooth a motion that no one even caught her dip and the shifting of her hands, Marinette hoisted Adrien into the air and the over her head to rest him on her shoulders. Twisting back and forth, a grin crept onto her face as the entire bar broke out in cheers.

In a fluid motion, she swung Adrien off her body and back to the floor. They both wobbled as they straighten. Frustrated, Alix kicked her shoes off and started figuring out how the strappy heels worked. Giddy, Marinette slipped her already aching feet into the sneakers. The bartender drew their attention by smacking down a shot glass. She filled it with Tequila and passed over the salt shaker and a lime. "On the house," she said with a wink.

Not one to pass on a prize clearly won, a giddy Marinette pulled everything closer and side-eyed Adrien. "Open your shirt."

"Wah? Haven't you had enough alcohol..." Adrien stared at her, not sure if the blood still rushing through his head was obstructing his hearing but absolutely certain that he needed to start deflecting.

She turned on the seductress as she hooked her leg around his. "Alix was goaded and that wasn't fair. So, I'll give her her prize too." With that she winked and started unbuttoning the powder-blue cotton blend that was between her and her prize. When she bared a sufficient amount of chest (and abs, beautifully chiseled abs), must to the pleasure of most of the occupants of the bar, she push his shoulders until he was tipped back far enough for her to not loose her salt. Never breaking eye contact, she licked a strip from just above his navel to the base of his pectorals. She grabbed the shaker and applied a liberal amount. He put the lime between his lips himself, shooting her as shaky yet cheeky smirk. That only spurred her on. Everyone had started chanting something but her brain was too foggy to explain what it was. She fumbled until she connected with the shot glass. Her tongue retraced it's earlier path at a leisurely pace. Her hand brought the Tequila up. With another wink, she threw the liquor back and launched herself at his lips. He tried to chase her as she pulled back with the fruit between her own teeth. Everyone cheered again.

As the crowd dispersed, Marinette's view of the bar started to Salvador Dali on her. If she didn't go throw up right now she would be in the ER. She spun toward the bathroom and promptly fell down. Onto who she wasn't sure. The thought was now an urge and she pushed herself out of the hands trying to steady her. She made it into the stall before the Tequila and was vaguely aware of cool hands near her head. When her stomach was finally empty, a glass was pressed to her lips. The first sip was a swish and spit. She then downed the rest of the cup. Maneuvering out to the sink, she was shocked to find Chloe as her savior. The blonde had made it clear that they were never going to be friends when they went shopping. So, why was she here now? "Why are you here?" _Damn it, filter's gone._

"For one thing, I'm the fastest moving woman of the group. For another, Adrien was alternating between puppy eyes and venom since I spurred on the possible alcohol poisoning. Finally, the lump actually cares a lot about you and since I actually care about him, I'm going to make sure you don't get hurt so he doesn't get hurt. Don't try to decipher that. I'm only telling you any of this because you are wasted off your ass and I don't have to worry about you remembering what I say. I do want this to get this through your little alchy infused brain. Don't you dare manipulate him. I know how all you actors are. If I sniff out anything underhanded, I'll have daddy make sure your VISA denies." Chloe had been holding Marinette up by the front of her dress she belatedly realized. When Chloe released to further push her point, Marinette fell to the floor.

Rubbing her head with one hand, Marinette used the other to latch onto the sink and pull herself up. "Look, Chloe. I respect your relationship with Adrien. I have no intention to prevent the two of you from having whatever it is you have. And If you want a better heart to heart, let's at least wait till I'm hung over because I'm going to pass out if I don't get some food." She wavered again. Her eyes were no longer focusing which was the biggest factor of her gravity problem. Two Chloe's sighed and dug something out of their purses. They shoved it at Marinette when she didn't immediately grab it.

Focusing on her hands, Marinette found swimming power bars. Eyes widening she looked back up at the two blondes pointedly looking at the ground as their cheeks reddened. "Don't think this means I like you or anything. Just remember that I'm doing this for Adrikins. Now fix your lipstick. We need to get back out there." With a huff, they quickly turned and walked out of the room. Marinette quickly shoved the food into her mouth as she stared at the door. Finishing, she worked on her appearance and left. That had given her ample time to at least gain back the ability to focus her eyes when she tried. Therefore, there was only one Adrien at the bar for her to sidle up to.

His arm secured itself around her waist. She wasn't sure if it was a sweet loving gesture or a 'holy shit you better not fall over again' kind of thing. “How are you feeling?” It was probably the latter.

Flashing him a bright smile, she answered, “Chloe found a power bar for me to eat. After I… um yeah. I’m just glad I thought to bring mouth wash with me.” She leaned against him and was surprised by the tingle shooting through her body. Was she really that turned on by him? It’s has to be because she’s drunk, right? Right?!?

"I sent the other’s on to get our table. Kim feels really bad now so he’s buying. Sabrina went to fetch Chloe’s car so we’ll head over with them.” They went to wait with Chloe who Marinette found to be an exceptional driver as they finally made their way to supper. The meal itself was mostly uneventful, but did give Marinette a better head-space to deal with the rest of the night. The next bar, where they ‘regained’ their buzz (slowly with small talk and lightly mixed drinks between shots) was also uneventful. The last club that they stopped at next was where Marinette got into trouble again.

Adrien had been convinced on all sides to drink a little more. The push was when Marinette said she’d feel guilty if he didn’t have fun tonight because he was too worried about her. That, and Chloe promised that she’d make sure nothing he regretted happened. Then, drunk Adrien wouldn’t stop touching Marinette. So, drunk Marinette decided that obviously meant he wanted to dance. Everyone was fairly content at this point to do their own thing with the occasional regrouping which meant no one really followed when Marinette dragged him off.

It started out fairly innocuous. His hands were on her hips, hers were on his shoulders. But suddenly the lights went out as the beat dropped. They came back up in an intense stroking pattern and she was suddenly straddling his thigh, her body flush with his. One of his hands was on her low back, supporting her, while the other cupped the back of her head and guided her mouth to his. Eventually she pulled away with a gasp for air and he twirled her. She slotted herself flush against him again as his arms wrapped around her. His mouth found her neck and one of her hands sought out the best spot to twine into his hair. She wasn’t sure how long they were grinding for when she opened her eyes and saw him.

Papillon’s number one henchman. He was flirting with someone at the bar. Her body froze and she gaped, her brain frantically trying to get oxygen so it could function enough to do something. Anything. Because The Hawk was 3 meters away, probably just as sauced as she was. She was amazed that her stupor could recognize him. She’d only seen him once before. She was supposed to die in an explosion, so he showed her his face to mock her failure. He didn’t even know she hadn’t died. Chat Noir had hacked into the door lock system for her and she was just barely able to get out. She had bad burns from that mission and had needed several skin grafts in order to heal. She’s lucky that there wasn’t any scaring.

However her luck wasn’t with her tonight. She lunged forward forgetting about the body draped around her. Caught off guard, Adrien stumbled and took both of them down. Marinette bit through her tongue as Adrien’s chest crashed her skull into the floor. No one even took any notice of them. Marinette’s eyes welled up as her mouth was saturated with the taste of iron. Adrien rolled off her and frowned like he couldn’t comprehend what happened. “Ab u o-ay?” she tried to ask without spitting blood all over the place. She covered her mouth with her hand just in case.

Adrien looked at her, perplexed. Before she could try to explain what happened, he blurted out, “I think I rolled my ankle.”

”Wah?” she forgot about her own injury and frantically tried to examine his ankle. However, at the same time he noticed the blood coming out of her mouth.

”Oh my god! What happened?” He sat up and grabbed at her face. Their combined drunken momentum crashed their heads together. They both sat back with groans and Marinette couldn’t stop the blood dribbling out of her mouth at this point. Mylène finally took note of them and came rushing over with some napkins.

”What happened? Oh poor Marinette! Did you bite all the way through your tongue?” She stuffed a couple napkins into her mouth. “Adrien will have to help you up, I’m afraid if I tried to help you I’d just topple and make everything worse,” she giggled and looked expectantly at the model who was a pathetic puddle on the floor. “Adrien?”

”Mylène, go get Ivan or something. I definitely rolled my ankle. It’s already swelling.” The two women looked down and gasped. Well Marinette tried to gasp, she merely sucked back part of a napkin and started coughing. Mylène started to panic and ran off to get help. Marinette reached over and started rubbing Adrien’s back. She glanced at the bar, but The Hawk was gone. She hadn't gotten a good look at the man he was flirting with either. All she knew was he had flaming red hair.

Ivan and Kim both arrived and help Adrien up and off the dance floor. Mylène had gone to the bar for some ice and Chloe had already sent Sabrina off to get the car. Chloe hovered over Adrien, asking how he was and what she could do to help him. If Marinette were a dog, her hackles would have been rising. She tried to quiet the jealousy, but she was crashing fast what with the adrenaline rush and the pain. Being gagged had never been a blessing for her before, but boy was she glad that she didn’t snap at the woman holding ice to her fiance’s ankle for him. She wouldn't even be this possessive of him if she weren't drunk right now. And if Alya hadn't forced her to spend the last four days bonding with him. Trying to relax, she wrapped an arm around his shoulders and rested her head against his. Nino opted to come with them as they left to help get Adrien upstairs (and undressed). Which meant when he crammed into the back seat with Sabrina and Marinette, Marientte being the smallest put her in the middle seat. She couldn't wait to get back because her emotions were rubbing raw and she just wanted to sleep everything off.

Back at the penthouse, Chloe didn’t even volunteer to come up with them. She dropped them off and tore away with a “Feel better, Adrikins!”

”Gee, thanks for the offer Chloe. I’d love to go back and hang out for a little bit longer. You’re swell!” Nino huffed, adjusting to get Adrien higher up his shoulder. Marintette was supporting Adrien’s other side. Having refused to put her heels back on though, it was laughable to think she could be helping keep his weight off his ankle.

”Don’t worry, bro. I’ll call the Gorilla and he’ll take you wherever,” Adrien said, giving Nino a wavy smile.

Marinette wasn’t able to tell if he was paler now or if it was because the lighting was so different than the club. With Nino’s help, they got Adrien upstairs, undressed, and in bed. While Marinette was making up an ice pack in the kitchen, Nino had dug crutches out from somewhere and had them resting against the nightstand on the right side of the bed. He had also propped Adrien’s ankle up on some pillows. Marinette came in with a glass of water, some pain killers, and the bag of ice. She adjusted the covers so there was protection for his skin while still letting the coldness affect the swelling. Nino winked at Marinette and started backing out the door. “You kids have a good rest of your night!” He laughed before letting the door slam behind him.

Marinette rolled her eyes (and her head, she was still really drunk) and looked back at Adrien. His eyes were closed. Patting his hand, she got up to leave. He quickly grabbed her and she paused to look at him. “Um… I just, I wanted to… um…” he mumbled, not looking at her as his other hand rubbed the back of his neck.

”Ahunun,” she said, giving him a look. She had taken the napkins out when they got here, but Adrien had a beautiful first aid supply drawer in his bathroom so she had replaced them with gauze. The bleeding had stopped already, but she didn’t want to tempt fate by talking too much. The gauze was there to remind her of that.

Adrien flushed and muttered out an apology. He didn’t let go though. She waited for him to say something. Finally he looked back up at her. “I’m so sorry for what happened at the club.”

She plastered the best smile she could on her puffed-out face. She was sure she looked like a chipmunk right now. Moving back to sit on the bed, she cupped his face with the hand he was holding. He seemed to get the message as he smiled and pulled her face closer so he could rest their foreheads together. His thumb gently stroked her cheek and she could smell the liquor on his breath as he took steady breathes.

”Um, could you…? Uh… I-I hope you sleep well. Good night, Mari,” he whispered, not letting go of her. She frowned at him and pulled back. His eyes were hazy and she couldn’t tell if they were slumped from the alcohol, the pain, or if it was just that late for him. She kissed his forehead, to check his temperature she told herself. Deciding it was fine, she tugged her hand back, motioned for him to sleep, and made her way out of his room.

The door to his office was a titch open as she passed. She slowed, then pushed her way in. Without really thinking out her actions, she grabbed a notebook and a pen and went back to Adrien’s room. He jerked when she turned the light back on. Rubbing his eyes, he gave her a bleary smile as she came back. “Wha-?” he started to ask but she put a finger to his lips as she sat down and wrote something out on the paper. She held it up so he could read it.

“What did you want to ask me before when you changed your mind? Oh uh…” Adrien rubbed the back of his neck again, not meeting Marinette’s eyes. “It, uh. It doesn’t matter. It’s all good. Thanks though.”

She frowned and wrote, _No I’m serious. What did you want to ask?_

”Mari, it’s ok. I-I changed my mind, ok?” He tried to push her off the bed so she'd leave, but that just made her stubbornness flare into action.

_Adrien Agreste. I am going to be your wife. I have a right to know and you have a right to ask me. I demand you tell me._

Adrien gulped as he looked up at his fiance. Shrugging his shoulders and looking away he muttered, “I just wanted you to stay. Um. If you would, that is. You know, in case I need something. Since I-I can't like, walk or anything.” He looked back at her like a puppy about to be kicked. She grabbed his face to make sure he was looking her in the eyes as she nodded. She scribbled that she was going to go change. When she came back, he looked to be out. However, he perked up as she approached the bed. She settled in next to him and turned out the lights. His hand found hers and Marinette gave a squeeze before she settled in to sleep. Just as she was drifting off, she thought she felt him shift a little. As nothing immediate happened, she succumbed to sleep.

_”Je t'aime.”_


	6. Wedding Bells are Ringing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which so many pictures are taken. SO MANY!
> 
> Also, I may have cried a lot when writing this... Not sure if that was due to hormones or the election though....
> 
> *I saw a post on Tumblr talking about the use of French and France living in fanfics. I wanted to say that if anyone wants to tell me when I do something wrong so I can change it, I would greatly appreciate that. I took two college semesters in the language and I have lived in Europe (I was in Freiburg, so just a hop away from both Switzerland and France) so I have some basics down but might not realize some other things. Thanks!*
> 
> **Any Mandarin that I use is 100% looked up. A friend taught me some back in college and I've taken enough language courses to know better than to just pop stuff into Google Translate. However, unstructured basically self teaching isn't very effective so while I try to keep it as realistic (and limited) as possible please let me know if I royally mess anything up.**

Marinette groaned as she rubbed the smile out of her cheeks. They hadn't even gotten to the ceremony yet and they had already been taking pictures for hours. When Alya said "pre-wedding" pictures, Marinette assumed that would be half an hour, hour tops, of pictures of her and the bridesmaids in the church. What she had not expected were the pre-church pictures. Pictures of her getting up, pictures of her eating breakfast with the bridesmaids, pictures of getting her hair done, pictures of the various stages of getting dressed. It wasn't just a snap-shot of each thing either. There were a million clicks in one pose, then a million more in another. She knew, KNEW they weren't going to use more than like, two of each scene, but none the less she was pretty sure she could apply to be legally blind at this point from all the flashing.

"How many more in the chapel before I can go have nervous jitters downstairs?" Marinette asked her maid of honor. She passed her bouquet to Rose to hold as she limbered up her stiff shoulders.

"Um... just like, a few more. Oh hey, come here for a second," Alya responded, suddenly nervous. Chloe and Rose suddenly took great interest in how a bow was tied onto a pew. Going on high alert for the strange behavior, Marinette hesitantly followed her to the doors she would come through later.

"Choupinette!"

"Papa?" Marinette gasped as the doors flew open. Lo and behold, her father was standing in the entry way. Tom Dupain was wearing the same outfit he wore to the funeral just two weeks ago. Except the tie; that matched the emerald dresses that the girls were wearing. "Oh my god, Papa!" Marinette threw herself into his arms. Both of them fell to the floor weeping. She eventually leaned back and, trying to stop her make-up from being ruined, beamed up at her father. "Papa, I missed you so much. I didn't, I didn't think you'd be here. What about everything for Maman?"

"Oh baby, your maman would have torn me a new one if I wasn't at your wedding. Your lǎo lao said she would take care of everything for me," he answered, brushing hair out of her face so he could look her in the eye.

"姥姥, really? But I thought she and you weren't getting along right now," Marinette answered, pulling out of the embrace and helping her father back to his feet.

He chuckled and brushed his suit off. Sorrow flashed through his eyes as he adjusted his cuff links; they were the last birthday present his wife had given him. He cleared his throat and looked back at his daughter. "She understands."

Marinette couldn't help herself. Her fingers reached out for the cuff links as well. She hesitated and reached for his tie instead, adjusting it's position. She nodded, then the two of them burst into laughter. They embraced again and turned back towards the alter. Everyone quickly made it look like they hadn't been watching the moment. Marinette narrowed her eyes first at the photographer, then at her best friend. Alya turned away, whistling. Wrapping her hand around her father's arm, Marinette strode forward, calling out, "Alya, when exactly did you plan this?" The red head tried her best to hot foot it out of there before her snickers became obvious. She very much failed as the enraged bride tried to go after her. "Alya! Grrr... Papa, when did you get here?" she asked when it dawned on her that there was an easier solution than Alya.

Tom chuckled and patted his daughter's hand. "Oh my Choupinette, she's been planning this for month's now. She was cagey at first, trying to stop us from knowing why we were supposed to be coming to France. Your maman eventually whittled out of her that it was for a wedding, oh you should have seen her. She was beside herself trying to make sure you didn't know that we were-" He suddenly stiffened. "-rather, I am, I'm so glad that I can be here for you. I have something for you. Sabine wanted you to wear it today." He pulled a box out of his pocket. Inside was the necklace that had been passed down on her mother's side for generations. Sabine had joked that she wouldn't pass it on to Marinette until after her death because Tom had persuaded her mother to let him propose with it. It was a turquoise necklace made like a string of pearls with the largest stone in the center being about the size of her thumb. It wasn't a necessarily expensive family heirloom. However, back when an ancient relative was a miner, he had slowly stolen the stones to make the necklace and propose to his sweetheart. It was commonly believed that turquoise could protect it's wearer from harm and bring them luck. He had wished to keep his love safe. It was her maman's most cherished possession. Marinette gasped as tears ran rampant down her cheeks. Her father gave her a weak smile and carefully draped it around her neck.

"Thank you, Papa. Thank you so much." He nodded and pulled her into another hug.

Marinette heard the distinct click of a camera. Furious she pulled out of her father's grasp and whirled on the photographer. With make-up streaking down her face, she was no longer the beautiful and graceful bride. She was full on bridezilla now. "That is enough! No more! I'm done with all of you!" Spinning she headed to the stairs so she could go wallow in her emotions. She paused before heading down. Leaning back to see into the sanctuary, she cried out, "And someone better come down in an hour to help me fix my face!" With a huff, since there was no door to slam, she made her way down stairs.

In the bride's room, Marinette tried to find a way to sit comfortably with literal yards of fabric hanging behind her. She finally gave up and slumped onto the floor. She was already overwrought from her actions Friday night. Yesterday had been horrible. She woke up to a pounding skull only to find herself wrapped around the man of the day (and apparently her dreams). A shriek may have been what woke him up and was most definitely what made both of them fall out of bed. She couldn't just run away however, because he couldn't get untangled from the sheets on his own. Suffering through getting him up so he could go to the bathroom and get back in bed proved to be the ends of her limits. Bolting, she only went back to him with food or if he texted her that he needed more water. She spent the rest of yesterday trying to loose herself in their new novel, Marinette's pick titled _Tous les héros s'appellent Phénix_. It was another social justice one, this one about a girl named Phoenix trying to protect herself and her younger sister from the abuse of their new step-father. However, depressing topics did nothing to help her and everything to make her more self indulgent with her shame.

Much of Friday night was a blur. She did remember Chloe chewing her out in the bathroom. She also remembered seeing The Hawk. Most shamefully though, she remembered kissing Adrien like he was her source of oxygen and then agreeing to sleep (in his bed) with him. She remembered doing the things she and Chloe both told her not to do. That night was supposed to be about loosening up and having fun getting to know a crowd of people who would back her staying in the country and help out her story. It was not supposed to involve setting up her fiance for his heart to be broken. By the lack of anything from Alya and Chloe, she was 99% positive that no one had seen them making out on the dance floor. Nor Adrien sucking a very large hickey onto her neck that may or may not be covered with make-up at the moment. She had been glad this morning for not removing the make-up she had applied Saturday since they decided to infiltrate her space for pictures. Luck was also with her that last night wasn't when everything happened so they didn't find her in Adrien's bed.

Even worse, now her Papa of all people was actually here for this. HE didn't know that his wife and daughter had been spies. Therefore, HE was under the impression that Marinette was ACTUALLY getting married to the love of her life today. She had told him that friends were helping her out and she just needed to be away. He thought her day job was as an international relations officer who coordinated events and panels to improve not only their province's, but also their country's reputation with the rest of the world. She wasn't sure how she was going to explain to him why she didn't tell him about this. If her maman was here...

AND! If her maman knew for months now, that meant that she wasn't wearing the necklace the day she was killed. That meant she had already set it aside to pass on for her daughter. That meant that she had unwittingly taken away her maman's good luck charm and was inadvertently the cause of her death. Well, and of course the person who was torturing her was responsible. But the guilt had crept in and Marinette couldn't stop the tears from returning.

A knock on the door pulled her out of her thoughts. She turned to find Rose with a make-up kit. Trying her best to clean up her face for re-application, Marinette stood and gave the petite blonde a shaky smile. It was returned at one hundred watts. Holding up a finger, Rose turned and slipped back out of the room. She returned with a couple ice cubes and proceeded to rub the puffy skin under Marinette's eyes. After her face was back to a more normal size, Rose dried her off and gussied her back up. Before they were done, Alya and Chloe came in and said the ceremony would be starting soon. Rose and Alya fussed to make sure everything looked right before leading the way back upstairs.

Tom greeted them and offered his arm to his daughter. The music beyond the doors slowed before going completely silent. The doors opened to let Rose through, quickly closing behind her. Marinette was too far in the corner to be able to see anyone, which meant they couldn't see her either. Next went Chloe, followed by Alya. The music swelled and fabric rustled as everyone stood and turned to watch her entrance. Plastering an unwelcome smile on her face, she and her father went to the doors. Eyes connecting with Adrien's, everything else blurred out into a hazy fog. Her father tugged her forward as she kept glued to the handsome man waiting for her. Everything seemed to speed up from there on.

The only shot of clarity was when Adrien kissed her. His lips were warm and, surprisingly, his tongue danced across her lips begging for entrance. Her knees wobbled and his hands shifted to hold onto her better. She caved and licked into his mouth as well. Then he was pulling away and beaming at her.

They walked back down the aisle, then waited as a greeting/ congratulations line for everyone hug them and leave. Then they had HOURS more of photos where, once the photographer was satisfied with the group shots, they moved on to different locals in different outfits. At some point, she and Adrien had shared samples of a couple different dishes (which turned out to be her lunch). Finally, she was put into the white dress that she knew to be her evening's attire. Adrien was back in his suit.

"How's your ankle doing?" she asked as she went to sit next to him and rub his back.

"It aches a little. I'm definitely ready to sit for a couple hours for supper. How about you? How are you holding up?"

She gave him a tired smile and he wrapped his arms around her. After a while she whispered, "Today was really hard. I really miss my mom."

Adrien didn't look at her, but nodded in understanding. Rubbing her arm, he watched as the crew set up the final scenes. Tears came to her eyes as Marinette felt the acceptance radiating off of him. Adrien quickly pulled back and said, "By the way, you father is a wonderful man."

"Trying to change the subject, Mr. Agreste?" she quipped, catching the one tear that finally fell.

"I just don't want to wait an hour while they re-apply your face, Mrs. Agreste" he drolled, casting his gaze at her side-long. "I would hate for Bridezilla to return."

Gasping, she smacked him in the chest, then shoved a finger in his face. "WHO. TOLD. YOU!"

"Well... I'm not at liberty to say. Though I will admit that I saw pictures."

"SOMEONE GOT A PICTURE OF ME LOOKING LIKE THAT?!?"

"Pictures, yeah." Adrien was full on grinning at this point, his smile wide enough to show all of his teeth. Marinette rose to storm after who-so-ever had captured her horrible moment of weakness. Adrien's laughter rang out as he pulled her back to him. They struggled for just a moment before she caved. Jubilant, he pulled her onto his lap while she puffed her lips out in a pout and crossed her arms. "I'm not sure if I should say this... Did you notice Nino while your shoot was in session?"

Quirking an eyebrow, Marinette dropped her huff to look at him full on. "No. Why, is he the one who took it, them. Is he the guilty party?"

"Oh boy..." Adrien wrapped his arms even tighter around her. "Well, actually Nino was the videographer for the day."

"Video... grapher? Oh like photographer but-" Marinette's jaw fell open and her eyes widened. "HE GOT ALL THAT ON TAPE?!?"

Adrien flinched as she screeched practically in his ear, then had another bout of struggling as Marinette tried to go after his best friend. Coming out dominant (only because Marinette was exhausted and decided to pick her battles), Adrien relaxed a little and repositioned his arms around his wife so they were more comfortable. He leaned forward and kissed her nose, effectively dropping her attention from murder. Before she could respond, telling him how they might need to slow down (because holy shit she was going to break his heart), Gabriel called them over to finish up so they could get to the reception. The bout of pictures completely fogged Marinette's mind over and she forgot that she wanted to have a serious talk with her husband before he tried to consummate their marriage and she had to turn him down.

Her plans (if she still remembered them) were further derailed as champagne was shoved in her hand when she arrived at the dinning hall. Adrien twined his arm around hers so they could be linked as they drank their first toast in front of everyone. They were ushered to their seats so that dinner could be served. Apparently, Alya was ravenous and kept biting Nino's head off as he tried to calm her down. After the dishes were cleared, Nino gathered everyone's attention so he could start the speeches.

"Friends and family! It's awesome that you are all here to help celebrate my bro and his girl syncing up for life. I've known Adrien for a long time, way back in Lycée we'd spend every minute we could together. We had a bromance of the ages, if you will. And in all honesty, I have never known my man to be as crazy about anything as he is about this woman right here. And the dude is god da--- er, really super obsessive. If you've had a conversation with him in the past few months that wasn't about her, I congratulate you. Also, how did you do it? Because I canNOT get him to shut up-" Adrien smacked him at that point, which caused laughter to ripple through the room. "Alright, alright. But seriously, I'm so happy for you two. I may not have had much time to talk to you, Marinette. But you are already a sister in my heart. Feel free to come to me if you need to surprise him or get revenge or something. Not that you should need too much help. Dude's too oblivious to notice the world passing him by." Adrien groaned and smacked his face down into his hands. It had been steadily darkening as Nino went on, and was now rivaling the tomato's from their meal in color at this point. Marinette snickered, but rubbed his upper arm to express her sympathies. She knew her turn was coming. "Anyway, cheers!"

Marinette sipped her champagne and pointedly didn't turn as Alya stood up and reached for the microphone. "Alright, so you are all aware, I am the one who introduced the happy couple in the first place. I have known Adrien as long as Nino has and for the same reason. Though I was just the awkward third wheel to their bromance. Marinette I've known even longer. We became pen-pals through an exchange when we were little and kept it up as we got older. I had the brilliant idea to get them together a couple years ago. I made sure to talk about Adrien at least once a letter and would bring up Marinette at least once everytime I hung out with the boys. After their curiosity was piqued enough I handed off the contact information. As Nino said, Adrien slowly became obsessed. Marinette on the other hand, is a little harder to crack. I fully knew they were meant to be when she started gushing about witt and banter being traits she looked for in an ideal guy. After that, it was just a matter of getting them together, which proved quite difficult as they both kept moving around on me!" That comment brought lots of laughter from the audience and shy blushes from the newly weds. Aly's mood suddenly became somber as she continued. "I had actually gotten in cahoots with Sabine, Marinette's mother. She helped me out tremendously and I'm so sad that she isn't with us anymore. She would have been so proud." Marinette finally turned to look at her, tears welling up. She could see her father now and he was bawling at his table. Gabriel looked put out by it which made Marinette's lips twitch. She wiped her own eyes and beamed at her friend. "The following is done in her memory. She initiated, then pushed for this. It was difficult, but I was able to get a pretty nice slideshow put together for you all. Any couple shots were taken this week. Roll it Max!"

Marinette shot Adrien a look and saw that he was just as pale as she was now. They turned their attention to the screen. It started out fairly adorable: baby pictures, naughty two-year-olds, various school accomplishments. Everyone laughed at the picture of adolescent Marinette throwing her father over her shoulder. Which was promptly followed by a shot of her mother triumphant over top of her, causing more laughter. Nearly all of Adrien's photos were posed whether it was him practicing piano, standing on the first place podium at a fencing tournament, even one of his modelling shots was in there. For all that Adrien didn't have that many, Alya kept Marinette's to a minimum. There were only one or two more of her that there were of him. Then came shots of the past week. Somehow, there was a picture of them hugging at the airport, his welcome sign at their feet. Pictures from the days shopping and the night at the club. Then, it switched to video shots. It had their moment in from the dressing room where Adrien asked Marinette to marry him for liking Miyazaki. Several ooo's and awe's came from the crowd as Marinette's face started burning. Then it had video's from their night out of events that Marinette couldn't even remember.

The first was of Marinette trying to explain some dance move to Adrien. His hands had been on her hips (to keep her upright) as she shifted back and forth, her feet twisting in time with her swings. Adrien had then sampled, doing it perfectly. Marinette had shook her head and told him in a very serious voice that he was doing it too sexy and he needed to tone it back. The real Marinette sunk down in her chair as laughter roared out. Adrien took her hand in his and started rubbing comforting circles with his thumb. The next one was them trying to practice eating something with their arms twined together. They had been too uncoordinated for that so Nino's voice came out from behind the camera. He had advised them to just feed each other. Marinette had animatedly grabbed Adrien's face, opened his mouth, then shoved the food in. So, Adrien had copied her exactly. Tom's laughter changed to choked sobs and Marinette shielded her face from his direction, trying to become one with her chair.

"And now for the piece de resistance," Nino muttered, a manic grin stretching his features.

"Wha-? But that was the last..." Alya started from her other side, before quickly turning back to the screen to watch.

On the screen was their last dance of Friday night. They had been smiling shyly at each other when suddenly the screen blacked out, then came back on with the strobing lights. Marinette held back a scream as she watched her body practically wrap around Adrien's. It looked like they were about to topple when both of them pulled away from each other. The video cut there- _FUCKING THANK GOD!_ -but Marinette could feel Alya starting to hyperventilate. Nino plucked the mic from his gaping girlfriend. "We were going to segue into cake to see if they've improved at feeding each other any, but I decided to be a little sh- er, uh, brat and add that last one since no one seemed to see it, except me." Nino then winked conspiratorially at everyone.

Marinette peeked at her husband and was relieved to see that he was just as embarrassed about the video as she was. He suddenly looked at her and she jumped, squeaking out an "Eep!"

"Uh, um... Ca-ca... uh," he stammered, gesturing wildly at her towards the corner of the room. She pressed a fist to her mouth and followed his gaze. Their beautiful wedding cake was sitting there and, by the looks of it, the wait staff was prepping to cut it.

"CAKE! Uh, um, yES! Let's, uh, cake!" Marinette cringed at herself but jumped up and dragged Adrien over to the confection.

The photographer was already waiting for them. Marinette nervously picked up the knife. Adrien stepped up close behind her, wrapping an arm around her waist to press her against him. Together, they reached over and cut a wedge out of the cake, then into two pieces. Adrien picked up the plate and the first piece and gave her a timid smile. She reciprocated quickly before opening her mouth for him. She wrapped her lips around his fingers, pulling most of the frosting off as he pulled his hand back. Feeling more confident, she beamed as best she could around her mouth full of cake and took his piece. Just as gently, she fed him it. She was caught off guard though when he grabbed her retreating hand and pulled her to him so he could kiss her. She could hear the camera clicking away and it irritated her mildly but she was able to remember her woah-we-are-crossing-a-line-here concern so she let it pass. Before she could try to pull him away, Alya announced that they'd have their first dance as a married couple now.

He pulled her out to the center of the dance floor. Gently, he pulled her close and started to waltz. She sighed internally but leaned into him for the photo op. When they were done, she had her dance with her father, followed by other people requesting a dance from her. By the time she could pull Adrien aside, it was late into the night and most everyone had had plenty to drink. On her way over to her groom, her father pulled her aside.

"Ah my choupinette is all grown!" he whined, pulling her into a hug. "Alya told me you didn't want me to know about the wedding so I wouldn't feel guilty. She also tells me you've decided to start acting, get away from the family business. Good for you!"

"Oh papa! You need to be cut off!" They swayed dangerously and Marinette pushed him back so she didn't end up underneath him on the floor.

"I am not drunk! A Dupain knows how to hold their liquor!" he exclaimed, thrusting a finger into the air as he stomped. He swayed again and she grabbed onto him.

"And a Cheng knows how to hold her bread!" she replied in mirth. For a split second anyway. They shot each other stricken looks before pulling away.

"You're right, I-I'm drunk. Nathalie said she'd arrange a ride for me. I'll look for her and go sleep this off." He slumped in on himself. His eyes were empty as he turned away from her. Marinette couldn't talk past her tightening throat. She just nodded and headed to her dinner seat.

"Hey," came a whisper from her left. Adrien pulled his chair back and sat beside her. She sank back and wrapped her arms around herself. "Did you-?" He sighed. "Did you want to get out of here? Alya's busy exacting her revenge for not knowing about that last video by drinking Nino under the table. I'm sure they won't notice."

She thought about it for a moment before nodding and reaching for him. He scooped her up into his arms, causing her to scream a little. He apologized and carried her to their limo. Once they were out of the public's eye, she let her tears come again. Adrien just held her as she cried herself to sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Choupinette- term of endearment, no literal translation (per where I found it) but it comes from mon chou – my sweet bun (un chou à la crème is a cream filled puff pastry)  
> 姥姥（lǎo lao)-maternal grandmother  
> *I am writing the translation for Tom to say and the actual characters for Marinette, because Tom would have learned Mandarin later in life and therefore have a distinct French accent when he says it. Marinette, growing up with both languages, would be able to speak each with the proper accent. Also to note, her parents spoke French around her because while Tom knew Mandarin, he was very much ostracized by the Cheng family for being foreign. Sabine would speak in French to him in defiance of her family. That is why Marinette will use the French titles for her parents, but the Mandarin for her maternal family.  
> Tous les héros s'appellent Phénix by Nastasia Rugani (About Phoenix is the English title if you are interested)


	7. Let's Get Down To Business

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> To defeat, Papillon! lol I'm sorry I can't say that phase, I must sing it.
> 
> In which we meet the secret agent and have a little LadyNoir.

"Mari."

She was clinging to a log, trying to stay afloat. The roaring waves kept trying to tug her beneath their depths. It seemed for every breath she gained she was pushed deeper into the murky waters.

"Mari, please."

The sun was starting to peak through the clouds, the storm finally lessening. Wrapping herself tighter around the log, she reached for the light.

"I can't breath, Mari. Wake up, please!"

Suddenly, the log started to break apart, too much water soaking into the recesses. She must have been gripping it too hard, causing enough pressure for it to shatter.

"Mari, I'll come back. I promise! I just really need to go to the bathroom."

Hands were coming out of the waters now, grasping her shoulders and, almost, pushing her? With a gasp, she finally opened her eyes. Adrien was pleading with her, gently pushing on her shoulders as he tried to get her to let go of his body so he could place her in the bed. She didn't just release him, she flung her body away from his. Which, in effect, also flung her off the bed. She hit her head on the wall as she went down and just lay there as stars swam their way through her vision.

"Oh my god! Mari, are you ok?" Adrien asked as he scrambled around the bed to help her up. They faltered when his ankle gave out, but were able to get upright. Marinette rubbed her head and looked around her. She could not figure out why she was in Adrien's room. In fact, she couldn't even remember coming home or falling asleep last night after...

"We're married now," she said dumbly, looking at him with wide eyes.

Adrien frowned at her and felt the back of her head for a bump. Pulling back he checked to see if her vision was clear and could track his finger. Deciding she wasn't concussed, he sat her back down on the bed and stepped towards the bathroom. "Yes, yes we are. I need to go to the bathroom, I'll be just a minute." He backed away from her. When it was clear that she wasn't going to move, he fully backed into the other room and closed the door.

The click reminded Marinette that she just spent her wedding night in her husbands bed and SHE CAN'T REMEMBER WHAT HAPPENED. Checking herself over, she found that she had been changed from the dress to her sleepwear. But, it doesn't feel like she's had sex. In fact, all her body was telling her was she had alcohol yet again and her eyes were still puffy from having cried so much. Aside from that, nothing.

Just then, Adrien came back, sitting beside her and taking her hand. "Before you worry, nothing happened last night. You fell asleep during the car ride home and after I carried you upstairs, you wouldn't let go of me. Since I still haven't fixed your lamp after the second time you tried to chuck it at me, I chose my room so I could read a bit. I think it was all that emotional turmoil from, well everything being so hectic and we never really got any time off. Don't worry though, nothing happened." Adrien was very stern as he said this. It made Marinette wonder if he was trying to convince himself of something just as much as he was trying to reassure her.

"Sorry I was such a mess..." Marinette whispered, embarrassment cropping up because she did cry a lot yesterday, didn't she.

"Don't worry about it!" Adrien was quick to reassure her. "I've been there. And I'm still here for you. So don't worry." He flashed her a beautiful smile that made her heart melt a little. "I've got to get to work though, there's coffee and left over croissants in the kitchen. Let me know if you want me to bring anything home."

At her nod, Adrien set about getting changed so he could head out. Marinette searched out her elixir of life. One thing about sleeping with Adrien turned out to be that she woke up much quicker than she had ever done in the past. Though that was probably due to the heart attacks she gave herself upon waking up next to him. Granted, work make her wake up quicker too. Speaking of, now she needed to get started. Surprisingly, she had a place to start too. Though the name of the last club they had gone to eluded her, she knew someone would be able to tell her when she asked. Then she'd look for flaming red hair. There was also a chance that The Hawk would return. She had time, that's why she got married after all. She's stake them out every night for the next year if she had to.

After a quick call to Alya (where she asked for all the clubs that they went to, plus any associated with the case so as to not explain that she knew what The Hawk looked like), Marinette spent the day setting up her game plan. She was on the fence about going out that night, until she realized that she could avoid Adrien that way. So she took the cowards route, telling herself it was for the good of the case. On her way, she planned to swung by any Theatre she came across so she could pick up audition fliers. If she was lucky, she'd be passable enough to get background parts. Something to do for her actual job without having to devote a lot of time to it. Thereforee, she picked out a simple disguise with some longer hair, wearing shades to hide her eyes. She also used foundation to make her face darker that it normally was. She picked out an outfit she hadn't worn yet and dug out her Ladybug gear. She had special electronics specifically for her alter-ego: cell phone, tablet, blue-tooth ear piece. She even had some extra fun things to help her out. Tonight she'd only be taking surveillance items with her. It was hard to decided if she should even use any tech, because the second she did, Chat Noir would be there. She wasn't sure if she wanted him to know she was in his home region. She hoped to god he wasn't based out of Paris itself, but she wasn't going to hold her breath. Her only luck with that mangy cat came in the form of him saving her life. Otherwise it seemed to be a free for all. Normally she probably wouldn't be so hesitant. However, she was a married woman now. She should only flirt with danger at this point.

Going against the voices of Alya and Chloe in her head, she started setting up micro cameras so she could watch the various bars and clubs without actually being there. Sure enough, Chat Noir texted her mere moments later.

_Well, well, well, long time no see, my Lady. ΦωΦ_

_**Long time never see, Chaton.** _

_Me-ouch! Cut me to the quick, my Lady! You just so happen to be in luck, we are in the same city right now. Are you prepared for me to come sweep you off your feet?( ˘ ³˘) <3_

Marinette sucked in a breath and shook her head. _Just my luck... **You know I never mix work and pleasure, silly cat.**_

_¿Porqué no los dos, mi Dama?( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)_

Marinette rolled her eyes and made it a point to set up at least one camera between each text she sent him. Otherwise she was never going to get this done. _ **Because, I've got a Ƹ̴Ӂ̴Ʒ to catch. And his little pet too.**_

_MY LADY! YOU EMOTED FOR ME!!!_

_( ˘ ³˘) <3 ( ˘ ³˘)<3 ( ˘ ³˘)<3 ( ˘ ³˘)<3 ( ˘ ³˘)<3 ( ˘ ³˘)<3 ( ˘ ³˘)<3_

_His pet? So you are hunting the hunter?_

_**Omg, don't make me regret my decisions so much.** _

_**But of course!** _

_**I don't care if he's a bird of prey, I shall be roasting him in a fine red wine sauce.** _

_Oh I know of a great vintage. You sure you don't want to meet up?( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)_

_**Sorry Chat, I'm a married woman.** _

_And you think I'm not?_

_**...** _

_**...** _

_...?_

_**To be honest I thought you were a tom cat...** _

_OMG⋆ටᆼට⋆_

_**Not a married woman...**_

_(╯°□°)╯︵ ┻━┻_

_That is NOT what I meant! >_< _

_**Really? Cause that's what you said.** _

_**Now, does your wife, or is it husband, know how shamelessly you flirt with a woman you've never met before?** _

_LADYBUG_

_**Sorry Noir, this bug has got to fly!**_ Marinette smirked to herself and left the club she was at. If she was lucky, she'd get all the bars in a 10km radius covered before the week was out. She felt her phone buzz and as contemplated ignoring him. When it buzzed twice more in quick succession though, her sanity begged her to not let him stew and make it worse later. Sighing, she pulled her phone out and ran smack into someone as she rounded a corner. Both of them fell to the ground and the man groaned. Marinette quickly jumped to help him. "Oh my god, I'm so sorry!"

He accepted her pro-offered hand and stood. Rubbing his face, he looked at her from between his fingers. "Eh, it's ok."

Marinette's mouth almost fell open as he stepped into the light. She couldn't believe her luck; his hair was flaming red. This could be the man she saw at L'Arc on Friday. "Please, let me by you a drink to make it up to you," she found herself saying.

He chuckled and, was he blushing? It was hard to tell. But his voice was teasing as he asked, "Is this how you pick up men?"

"What? No! No, I'm just..." Did she tell him she was married? She was undercover right now, she didn't have to be married. It might turn him away if she was. Then she wouldn't find out if he was the one she saw flirting with The Hawk. But what if Chloe or Gabriel has someone tailing her right now? She changed her appearance, sure, but any observant idiot would have seen her as the only one to go in and come out of that bathroom she changed in. She was 98% sure that no one was following her, but if it was a team of people with cameras set up...

Taking her pause as distress, the man was quick to reassure her. "Don't worry about it. I'm gay so, even if it was your method, it wouldn't do you much with me." He moved to keep going past her. She frowned and grabbed his arm. His swung back towards her, eyes wide.

"Where are you going?"

He frowned and tilted his head to the right. "I was, getting on with my night?" he questioned.

"But... I need to make it up to you for running into you," she responded, panicking a little. She couldn't let him walk away, he was her first lead!

"You... still want to buy me a drink?" His confusion was evident, however, he also seemed to retract in on himself a little. _Is he, nervous?_

"Of course! I do still feel bad, and who's to say I can only buy you a drink if I want in your pants? To be honest, I actually just got married. I was a little, giddy, about texting my fi-husband." She beamed at him, hoping he didn't think she was going to set him up to mock him or something.

"You aren't wearing a ring though," he accused. Marinette paled and looked at her hand.

"I didn't think a married woman could audition as well as a single one," Marinette let herself become embarrassed, not looking him in the eye as she continued. "You see, I'm an actress and I just moved here to marry my fian- I mean, husband. Are you sure I can't buy you a drink or even something to eat? I can tell you all about it?"

"Really, you're an actress?" he seemed to really perk up at that. "I'm an artist. My name is Nathanaël." He finally smiled back at her and held out his hand.

 _Real name or fake name? You're going to tell him about your acting career. If he decides to watch your performance..._ "Marinette." She pumped his arm and then tugged him after her back to the bar she had just set cameras up in. She spent a good hour with him, chatting and sharing stories. It never felt appropriate to bring anything up about his love life, but he gave her his card and invited her to his art show later that month. She couldn't believe her luck. Stroking the turquoise at her neck, she smiled to herself. They parted ways and Marinette realized that it was way too late to keep going tonight. She trudged back home, finally remembering the messages with Chat Noir when she reached the elevator. Grimacing, she turned on her phone. 20 missed texts. 

_Ladybug, you know I meant I was married too._

_And you'd like my wife!_

_You two would probably really get along with each other..._

_You two could both be my wife and take turns dominating me. ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)_

_My lady!_

_Don't ignore me! T_T_

_Oh so it's ok to flirt with the guy you run into on the street but not your most trusted partner? >_< _

_What are you doing._

_(╯°□°)╯︵ ┻━┻_

_Stop talking to him!_

_Don't drink with him!_

_> _< _

_My lady..._

_Ladybug_

_Bugaboo_

_Buginette_

_LB_

_How could you!_

_Fine, enjoy drinking with the random guy on the street who's GAY and could never fulfill your life like I could! ΦωΦ_

_~Chat Noir out~_

Marinette sighed and sent a quick text back _He's a lead, Chaton. I saw The Hawk talking to him. I'm just building rapport in case he can lead me to him later._ Satisfied that that would be sufficient damage control, Marinette finally entered her home. All the lights were off so she tip-toed to her room. She found that her lamp was fixed and Adrien had left out a copy of his choice for next book. She didn't bother checking the title or the bio just yet, knowing it was going to be something dorky and involved. Instead she changed and settled down so the depths of sleep could claim her. The room seemed cold as she tossed an turned, trying to fall asleep.

After her long, fitful night of sleep, coffee and porridge were waiting her when she made her way to the kitchen. Adrien had left her a note that he'd be at work till late today. And he wished her luck with her auditions. She frowned, remembering that she needed to follow through on that. She spent the rest of the week auditioning and placing more cameras to continue watching venues. She expanded to anything in that area that she thought a crime lord's right hand man would frequent. Chat had messaged her back that he forgave her and told her he had all the camera's synced and would periodically save all information to their normal Cloud. She wasn't sure if he knew what The Hawk looked like for sure, but he'd be an extra set of eyes for her. And he definitely knew what Nathanaël looked like, so he could keep her in the loop on his movements.

Marinette was throwing herself into her work like never before. The biggest contributing factor of that was trying to avoid having to break her husbands heart. She couldn't bear having to tell him she didn't want to actually act like his wife. So, she made sure she wasn't home until he was for sure asleep. Though for some reason, whether she was too excited to finally be moving forward, or because she had absolutely destroyed her sleep schedule, she wasn't sleeping well. That went on for that first week. Then she received a text from him, that stopped her heart and made her blood run cold.

"Hey, Mari. We need to talk. Drinks this weekend?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ¿Porqué no los dos, mi Dama? _ Why not both, my lady? (Spanish) because I'm a dork and it popped into my head so dorky Chat would say it too.


	8. Playing with Fire

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which we get some Power of Friendship® and find out why you shouldn't mess with Mari.

Adrien seriously needed to gain some more social experience. When most people say "we need to talk," they mean that something is going to go down. When he texted that to her, he literally meant that they needed to talk. Because he hasn't seen her for a while. Oh and they should discuss the last novel they both end up finishing the next one. And how is the search for a role going? He hasn't seen her basically since the wedding. Did Nino ever get a hold of her? He probably wanted to plot something. And chit-chat and chit-chat and she really wanted to smack him. But she couldn't mar that beautiful face. Especially since it would be equivalent to kicking a puppy. There was a long list of people who would retaliate too. Her inner self was the top of that list. So she forced herself to relax and converse with him.

Surprisingly, mention of where she slept at night was never brought up. She decided maybe she had underestimated him and should come home a little more often. She brushed it off as trying to get out there and get known on the scene. She claimed to have volunteered with costume making for a show that was already cast so she could be in the know when they started the next auditions. It was a lie for now but she told herself she'd check and see if that was actually a thing outside of university. She had been racking up more lies than she liked to recently. Something bad was going to happen if she didn't rectify that soon.

"Oh hey, Adrien. Earlier this week I ran into an artist and he invited me to his art show. Would you like to go with me?" Marinette asked, after returning from the bathroom. Their appetizers had come while she was gone, but she could tell he hadn't eaten any yet. She smiled at him as she picked up one of the chips and held it out for him to eat.

He grinned and leaned over to bite into the chip. What was left after he pulled away, she popped into her own mouth. As she was licking her thumb off, he answered with his own questions. "He? What kind of art does he do?"

"To be honest, I forgot to ask. And before you become jealous or something, he's gay. I actually knocked him over and he almost didn't let me make it up to him because he just thought I was flirting with him," she replied, as she divided the food out between them.

Adrien chuckled and looked like he was going to make a quip about that. However, he stopped himself with a blush and shoved something off his plate into his mouth. She quirked an eyebrow and waited for him to swallow and continue. "In that case, I'd love to go. When is it?"

They discussed their schedules and what outfits they should wear. Adrien kept trying to be all matchy-matchy with her and she only conceded because that would reinforce to Nathanaël that they were married. That, and Adrien draping himself around her like he was wont to do. The only reason he wasn't currently in her bubble was because she had left for the bathroom. Within the hour he'd either be behind her holding her or rubbing her shoulders or something. Or he'd have convinced her to get back into his lap somehow. She wondered if she shouldn't just pretend to fall asleep on the way home and so she could cuddle with him tonight. Or maybe if she drank enough she'd just pass out. Wait, she didn't want to drink so much that he worried again. Maybe she'd drink just enough so that she could blame the alcohol in the morning. Or she could man up and just crawl into his bed...

_Wait, what?_

Shaking herself from her thoughts she found Adrien hugging her from behind with his chin resting on her shoulder. Also, he was talking to whoever took his chair. Turning her gaze, she found Nino chowing down on Adrien's share of the appetizers. Alya was standing between them shaking her head. "Anyway, Marinette, I didn't think you were free tonight. You told me earlier this week you wouldn't be joining us." Alya said, swiping something off of Marinette's plate.

"Hey! Just because Adrien is a pushover doesn't mean you can eat my food!" Marinette grabbed her plate and started shoveling the food into her mouth. While she glared at Alya, Adrien swiped something. Whipping around to stop him, he already had the whole, whatever he stole stuffed into his mouth, making his cheeks poof a little.

"Girl, you shouldn't make fun of him when he's in PRIME food stealing position. Anyway, I thought you were working tonight?" Alya scooted Nino, chair and all, back so she could hop into his lap. He made a noise of protest until she held the plate for him so he could finish off Adrien's food.

Marinette glared at Adrien one more time before saying, "Actually, I finished the costume I was working on early and they didn't have anything more for me to do. They'd rather pay the regulars for their time instead of the upstart. So, I'm jobless now until something else comes up." 

"Good thing you've got yourself a sweet sugar daddy then so you don't need to worry about it," Nino said. He grinned behind her at Adrien before wiping the plate with a finger and licking said finger clean.

"It'd be better if I didn't have to share him with you," Marinette quipped. Which caused Nino to choke on the water he was chugging, which caused Alya to jump off his lap and start smacking him on the back. She wasn't very helpful though as she was laughing too hard to be effective. Adrien's arms tighten around her due to his own chuckling.

"Bro!" Nino blurted out when his lungs finally stopped revolting. "I thought we were going to prank him together. Why you turning on me?" He shot puppy dog eyes at Marinette.

She stuck her nose higher into the air and responded, "Well, consider it payback for including that last video."

"No. Nuh-uh. Not fair! Bro, you said you were getting me back with the bottle of soda you shook before giving to me. And changing my Instagram to nothing but baby photos, which I will figure out how you even got those pictures let alone got into my account. I know Alya doesn't have the password because I learned years ago that I can't trust her with that shit."

"Don't forget your last DJ event where your songs were all renamed," Alya helpfully added.

"Wait, that was Mari?" he asked her stunned.

"And your hats all being replaced with rubber chickens," Adrien pointed out.

"Woah wait a second! You telling me that Mari holds that big of a grudge? Dude! I just played a lousy video! I even cut out the good part!" he cried, throwing himself back in his chair in dismay.

"Good part? There's a good part? You told me next was them falling!" Alya gripped his shoulders and started to shake him.

"YEP! NEXT WAS FALLING! You are right Nino! I should forgive you now so you never need to do anything with that video ever again. Do you want to work up new custody papers for Adrien? I'm willing to renegotiate. You can have your choice. Every weeknight or all weekend? Friday's don't count though, that needs to stay open for group night," Marinette said, finally dropping airs and giving him a pleading smile as she rested her chin in her hand and rapidly blinked at him.

"Sorry, if you were responsible for ALL of that, then I'm afraid I'm going to have to show the video to Alya," he said, digging out his phone.

"But I had help! Both of them helped me! Adrien even did the music thing all on his own. And Adrien went out and bought the ducks for me while Alya supplied me with your keys and told me all your hiding spots for your hats!" Nino raised an eyebrow, hovering his fingers over the unlock screen. "Wait! Nino, please. I can't survive this. Alya WILL find a way to torment me for the rest of my life. PLEASE! Anything else!"

"Oops," he said with an evil smile as he put in his combination. Alya swooped in and ran away with the phone, causing Marinette to chase after her. She locked herself into the men's room and Marinette caused quite a scene banging on the door, begging her to stop. She finally came out and gave Marinette the re-locked phone. Marinette in turn let out a groan of frustration and stomped her way back to the table where Nino was laughing his ass off. Adrien was trying to keep his chuckles to a minimum. Marinette huffed, sitting back down in her chair.

There was plenty of ribbing, but the evening calmed back down after that. The four went to a different club to do some dancing. Marinette let herself get drunk, but not wasted this time. Which was evident in how much Adrien relaxed. They danced as a group of four instead of two couples which allowed her a chance to make it up to Nino a little bit. She started to do the jitterbug with Alya, giving the boys a chance to have their own fun. Alya spun them around so she could see them slow dancing with Adrien's head pillowed on Nino's chest. Marinette took a quick picture before giving them some space and having her girl time.

Eventually, arms slippped around her waist. She turned to find Nino grinning at her. Laughing, she let him pull her a little bit away from the other two. "Yo, so I know this has been an evening of mockery, but let's put that aside for some straight talk," he murmured.

Pulling her phone out, she showed the picture from earlier. "I don't know, this doesn't look very straight to me."

"Dude! Text that to me, it's going to be my new background." She couldn't help giggling, but she did as he asked. "Ok, for real though. How's living with Ponyboy going?"

"Honestly, I actually haven't seen him much. I kinda went a little crazy trying to find a job. I just, I want to make sure that I prove Gabriel wrong. You know? But, when Adrien had to text me to get me to talk to him, I realized I was being a little to focused. I'm sorry if he's been upset. I plan to do better now," Marinette admitted, not really willing to look him in the eye as she spoke.

"Wait, what? Because Adrien has been, like, on cloud 9. Are you sure you've been distant?" Nino asked, stepping back to twirl Marinette. He pulled her close again and rotated the two of them so she could see Adrien and Alya dancing together if she peeked around his arm. _Damn, being short._ They looked like they were simply having fun. None of this subterfuge Nino was employing.

Biting her lip she looked back up at Nino and sighed. "He's too good for this world. Yes, I'm sure I'm being distant. Tonight is literally the first time I've seen him since we woke up Monday morning."

"Seriously? Huh..." Nino contemplated her answer for a minute before giving her a stern look. "Well what are you planning on doing to make it up our sunshine boy then?"

"Aside from spend more time with him?" At Nino's nod, she sighed again and continued. "Well, I'm thinking of surprising him with something, but I'm not sure I want to tell you about it..." Nino raised an eyebrow this time and she gave him a look. "Really? Ugh, but it's like, couple stuff!"

"OOOHHHH!" Nino started grinning like crazy. "So what you're saying is, my man's not gotten laid since Sunday, so you're gonna make that up to him. No wonder he's been on cloud 9. Dude's never made it past first base in the past."

Marinette's face went full blush mode. The scientific community was going to study her blush as a new source of heat, her face was so hot. She shoved Nino away and tried to storm back to the other two as he cackled. He grabbed her hand and patted her on the head. Which only pissed her off, so then she stomped on his foot. He cried out in pain and hopped after her, begging her forgiveness. The other two looked at them confused, but Marinette simply grabbed Adrien and buried her face into his chest, wrapping her arms around him.

Nino tried to apologize. "I only embarrassed her, I swear!" Alya and Adrien raised a collective eyebrow at him. "No look, we were just talking and-" Marinette let out a choked sob and that sealed his fate.

Adrien shifted to protector mode. He didn't even give Nino the time of day as he picked up his wife and carried her out of the club. Nino stood there trying to stammer out his defense as Alya started in on him for hurting her bestie. Marinette was glad she could only hear that happening. She might have dropped the act and snickered if she could see Alya berating him in the middle of the dance floor. He may have been forgiven for the original instance of the video, but this was her revenge for him showing the rest to Alya tonight. She would take the hint though and not keep harassing him after this.

They headed home in silence. Adrien didn't even try to press for information. He simply stroked her hair and hummed in her ear. When the car rolled to a stop, Marinette lifted her head, blinking at the change in light. Adrien got out, offering her his hand. She took it and found herself suddenly swept back up into his arms. He thanked the Gorilla for taking care of them that night and made his way upstairs. Marinette decided she was drunk enough to enjoy herself and snuggled into him.

Upon arriving in their home, Adrien immediately took her to her room. He gently set her down on her bed and she hesitated before retracting her arms. He seemed to notice her pause. "Did you need anything?" She shook her head, keeping her gaze down. He gave her a second to reconsider before whispering, "Then good night, Mari." He left her room, gently closing the door behind him.

Marinette got about getting ready for bed, but couldn't stop thinking about her conversation with Nino. Not the having sex part but rather the making it up to him part. She stood beside her bed for a moment before grabbing her book and heading back into the hall. When she got to Adrien's room, his door was closed, but she was willing to bet he was reading a chapter before he went to sleep. Her hand hovered over the door knob. Shaking her head, she steeled herself and knocked on the door instead.

"Hm? Mari? Did you need something?"

She could hear him starting to get out of bed. Quickly, she opened the door and shot him a quaky smile. He was half way out of bed, book in one hand with his fingers holding his place and his other hand fumbling to get his reading glasses on top of his head. "Hey, could, um... could I sleep in here? I uh... I think those few times got me addicted to your warmth." She stammered out, eyes downcast and her empty hand twisting some hair between her fingers. When he didn't say anything, she glanced up at him.

His eyes were wide and his mouth hung open. At her giggle, he snapped his mouth shut and rushed to answer her. "Of course! I would love it-er of course you can uh... Yes! Please, whenever you want. Yes." At his last resolute 'yes' he went to slam his fist into his palm, forgetting that he was still holding his book. He winced a little and Marinette giggled at him again. She quickly made her way under the covers and wiggled over until their sides were touching. Adrien wrapped an arm around her shoulders and settled back to continue reading. Marinette found that they were on the same chapter for once, and opened up her book to start reading.

At her sudden gasp, Adrien turned to Marinette, about to ask what was wrong when he noticed that she was deep in the book. He was just getting back into the story when she said, "Oh no! Don't do that!" He looked at her again. Exasperated when she interrupted him for the third time, Adrien put his book down and looked at her. "Marinette."

"Huh?" she grunted but didn't actually look up at him until she finished the paragraph she was on. She met his gaze and blinked, slightly startled by his stern look. "What is it, Adrien?"

"Is there anyway you can read more quietly?"

She snorted but quickly sobered up when she saw that he was serious. She bit her lip, then cocked her head and asked, "What do you mean? I don't mutter the words as I read."

He sighed, pushing his glasses up to rub his eyes. "No, you don't mutter. It's the running commentary that's distracting."

"Running... commentary?"

"It's like you are watching TV. You react vocally in real time to what you take in. A gasp here, an "oh no" there." He paused to see if she understood yet. As her eyes were still clouded over, he continued. "You just hissed and muttered bastard because Duke Roger is convincing them to go into the Black City..."

"... I did?" she whispered, shrinking in on herself. "Oh my god, I'm so sorry! I never noticed!"

He chuckled and reach back around her to rub her shoulder. "Would it be better if I read it out loud? Then you could react and I could concentrate and we would both win."

"That would... actually be really nice. Then we wouldn't get ahead of each other. New nightly ritual?" she asked peering up at him.

His breath caught in his throat. He quickly coughed and nodded. They settled back down and Adrien picked up with the last paragraph that Marinette had read. When he realized she had fallen asleep, he put his book and glasses aside and turned out the light.


	9. Picking up the Pace

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which we get some slight angst and some progress.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Omg, guys I'm so sorry that this is late. I got some really bad news and it kind of broke me down. I also don't have anything for the next chapters written after this so it might take a little bit for the next chapter too. We are getting to the really good stuff now though so I hope you still enjoy. *fingers crossed that Christmas gives me some time to get ahead.*

The next few weeks raced by for Marinette. With the cameras up in every place imaginable, she didn't have much else she could do. There wasn't much public information for any of the Papillon cases. And being that she was an undercover, foreign spy, she couldn't very well just walk into their investigation lab and make demands. She had to content herself with what she could find on her own. Chat Noir seemed to have more time on his hands though. He was cataloging and organizing the videos for her. He even edited some highlights together so she didn't have to search through them all for the important information.

About a week before Nathanaël's show, she finally got a part. She had been having coffee with Alya and Adrien when she had gotten the call back and was out with Nino when she got the offer. However, it was a much larger part than she imagined getting. She was going to have to be at all of the rehearsals. She couldn't turn it down though; Nino would have been extremely suspicious. After he had finished jumping up and down with her, he demanded she tell him all about it. She was more embarrassed about the size of the part than the fact that she was playing a whore. It was a very feminist piece, which Adrien would later roll his eyes at and call it "Typical Marinette." Alya on the other hand, was all sorts of "Hell yeah! Stick it to the man!" Her father's response was that he'd be flying back for opening night. He'd even bring the family with him. 

Marinette was trying her best to act excited, but she just couldn't help but have in internal crisis over not being able to devote most of her time to her mission. She ended up taking it out on Chat Noir the afternoon before the art show.

_Hey Bugaboo, shouldn't you be getting ready to stalk your target? I hear women are notorious for spending hours getting ready. (=･ｪ･=?_

_**Shove it Noir.** _

_(=XᆽX=) So cold, my Lady!_

_**凸(-_-)凸** _

_Woah, LB are you ok?_

_**I have to get Papillon. I can't just wait around and hope someone I THINK I saw with The Hawk will help me take him down.** _

_Be that as it may, what will you be able to do today that will help you any? I mean, we just got whiff of a potential drug deal, shouldn't we follow up on that more if you aren't going to wait on this artist?_

_**YOU DON'T GET IT!!!** _

_**IT'S NOT ENOUGH TO JUST SIT AROUND!!!** _

_Woah, Ladybug. Calm down._

_**HE HAS TO SUFFER!!!** _

_**I AM THE EPITOME OF CALM** _

_**┻━┻ ︵ヽ(`Д´)ﾉ︵ ┻━┻** _

_┬──┬ ノ( ゜-゜ノ)_

_Ok, not sure I like you emoting anymore..._

_Did something happen? I mean, not that you haven't always been gun-hoe about getting this guy... but... well... it was never this intense before._

Marinette sobbed a little, realizing that she shouldn't be in public for this conversation anymore. Looking around, she spied a cafe and locked herself into the bathroom. _ **Did I ever tell you why I became a spy?**_

_No._

_**It was to join the family business. Follow in my mother's footsteps as it were.** _

_Is it wrong that I'm picturing an older version of you carrying a baby version of you around, kicking ass?_

_**Really Chat?** _

Marinette whipped away a tear. Letting out a little hiccupped sobbed, she pushed on. _ **Anyway, two weeks before I came to Paris, he sent her ashes to my Shifu.**_

_OMG （＊〇□〇）……！_

_LB, I'm so sorry!_

_**She had gone away for a reconnaissance mission a week prior and no one had heard anything from her.** _

_Ladybug, I will help you do whatever it takes to avenge your mother._

She couldn't help smiling at that. _**That's why I've been a little crazy.**_

_**I'm sorry for going off on you.** _

_I'll redouble my efforts. You go get ready for tonight so we know if we still need to watch that artist, ok?_

_**Thanks Chat. LB out.**_ Marinette then disabled the cell so she could head home. No matter how fraught she was, she was determined to not just lead Chat Noir to her. She cleaned herself up, changing back in to her "Marinette" outfit and left the cafe.

Glancing up at the shining sun, she scowled. She had been trying her hardest to not break down again. It's not like she expected her mother to survive every mission. They both were quite well aware of the costs for justice. But Papillion was MOCKING her when he sent those ashes. Somewhere along the way, he had found out that the Honey Bee and the Ladybug were mother and daughter. She wasn't sure if it was because of how impassioned they both were about justice and taking him down, or if he had pieced together what each of them actually looked like under all of their disguises. Whatever it was, he had used it to his advantage. He was trying to spur her into making a mistake she was sure. And if she didn't have Chat Noir helping her out, she might have made one today.

Settling her resolve, Marinette arrived home and started changing into the gown Chloe and her had picked out yesterday. For being such a bitch, Chloe was really super consistent about having "girl time" with her. Not that Marinette minded, as she constantly needed to wear something new so as to not connect her two personas. She was surprised that Sabrina never came with them though. Everywhere else, Sabrina practically hung on Chloe, doing anything and everything for her. But when Marinette tried to ask where the red-head was yesterday, Chloe gave her an incredulous look as if to say why would she even be here? So she dropped it and they found something to match what Chloe had picked out for Adrien two days prior.

She was just starting her make-up when she heard the front door open. "Hey Adrien? I'm out of concealer. Do you have any or would I be able to send the Gorilla out for some or some....thing?" she asked as she went into the living room. However, it was the Gorilla standing there with his back to her. He glanced over his shoulder and grunted before heading off down Adrien's hall. Confused, because she'd never seen the man inside a building before let alone their penthouse, she followed his path. He pushed his way into the bedroom with Marinette hot on his heels.

Adrien suddenly walked out of his closet, buttoning up his shirt. "Huh? Oh hey, Mari. When did you get home? Thanks, Gorilla." Adrien took whatever the man was holding and quickly put it in his closet before Marinette could catch a glimpse of it.

"When did I get home? When did you get home? I thought you were working until 5:30 tonight."

"Oh I convinced Father to move the photo shoot until next week. You must have been in the shower when I got back." Adrien stepped back into his closet to get the rest of his suit. The Gorilla was left to stand awkwardly in the corner. Marinette barely noted his discomfort before turning back to grilling her husband.

"Really? Because I was in the shower when you left for work this morning," she responded, cocking a hip and crossing her arms.

"Oh, you didn't shower when you got back?" he asked popping his head back out as he continued rummaging around. "Weird, don't know how you didn't hear me come in then. Must be stealthy like a cat!" He smirked at that and disappeared back into the closet.

"God, just what I need. Another freaking cat..." she muttered under her breath. Then she realized that the Gorilla was still standing in the corner uncomfortably. She smiled apologetically at him and motioned for him to leave. He shook his head and remained hunched. She frowned and turned back to the closet. "Is there something going on that you aren't telling me about?"

Adrien came out fully dressed. Marinette's libido kicked it up a few notches at the sight before her, but her smoldering fury kept the horny thoughts at bay. "Of course there isn't. Why would I not tell you something?" He shot her what he probably thought was an innocent smile. In that form fitting suit though, it was too debonair and sexy. Like a man in control.

"Why did you hide something in your closet?"

"Because someone's birthday is coming up and I wanted to surprise her!" he cried out. His face shifted to a pout and he asked, "Can't a husband surprise his wife with presents?"

Narrowing her eyes, she studied his face. Something was off, but she couldn't pinpoint it. "Alya told you didn't she?" she huffed out to cover her suspicions.

A maniacal grin stretched across his face. "Not only does Alya bring it up every time I see her lately, but it was on your passport and all that paperwork I had to fill out to get you into the country."

The Gorilla cleared his throat and, when the couple turned to him, indicated his watch. "Oh!" Marinette dashed into Adrien's bathroom. "I need to borrow some concealer!" She started digging around in drawers, _seriously, why did he have DRAWERS of make-up!_ Adrien slipped in behind her and pulled it out from the medicine cabinet behind the mirror. She yanked it out of his hand, ducked under his arm, and dashed back to her bathroom and the rest of her make-up to finish getting ready. Twenty minutes later, they walked arm-in-arm out of the apartment to head to the gallery.

Nathanaël's art show was very impressive. He seemed to focus on nature, though didn't limit is his style or medium. Adrien only seemed to be marginally interested in any of the pieces, always moving on when Marinette chose to. They had yet to see the man of the hour when another viewer stopped Adrien to chat. Marinette could only take about 10 minutes of their talk (about physics of all things) before she excused herself to continue her perusal. She was at the penultimate piece when she finally found him. "Nathanaël! Your work is amazing!"

"Huh? Oh, Marinette! Thank you. This is my favorite of this show," he said, indicating the sculpture in front of her. It was of a hawk with a butterfly resting on it's beak. Almost unnoticed at it's feet was a fox hiding in the grasses. Nathanaël smirked and told her to look even closer. Marinette gasped when she noticed the ladybug resting on the tip of the fox's ear. Using fox as a code name was not a new thing. She even heard tell of an Agent Flaming Fox who was rumored to have retired years ago after just a short jaunt in the industry. All this piece needed was a black cat and a honey bee and it would represent her secret life to a 'T'.

"Wow the details are gorgeous. Why this specific combination of animals? If I may ask that is."

"Well I was working with the ideas of how everything around us is interconnected, so all the pieces have at least two things that aren't usually thought of together. But there's no reason not too, right? I mean, insects take care of the plants that the prey of the fox and the hawk eat. So their connection is distant, but if one species were to die out, it would ripple and cause others to die out. So while many may not even notice it in my sculpture, this piece is actually focusing on the honey bee. I feel like there needs to be more awareness for such a vital endangered species-" Nathanaël was rambling away. Marinette finally caught up to what he said and a slight panic ensued. There's a honey bee? Where?!? She completely stopped listening to him and perused the piece again. To her amazement, there were multiple bees in the piece. One was gently resting in the mouth of the hawk, one was resting on the back of the fox, and one was pollinating a flower while collecting the nectar. There were a few dead bees scattered around on the ground hidden in the grass. The fox even had a paw protectively curled around one. "--a part yet, Marinette?"

Marinette jumped an looked up at the artist. His head was cocked and he had a shy smile on his face. She blinked rapidly as she tried to piece together what exactly he had just asked her. She started to stammer something out when arms slipped around her waist. Adrien rested his chin on her shoulder and hummed out a contented sigh. Instinctually, Marinette rested her hands on top of his and tilted her head so it was touching his. "Hey, honey. This is Nathanaël, the man of the hour. Nathanaël, this is my husband, Adrien." _Saved by the husband!_

"Ah nice to meet you! To be honest, I thought she was making you up. There are so many Adrien's in Paris. Though I suppose I wouldn't have believed you if you said it was the famous super model who smuggled you into the country!" Nathanaël said, laughing as he held his hand out.

Adrien let go of Marinette with only one hand and only long enough to shake Nathanaël's. Marinette smirked, however before she could retort, Adrien spoke up. "Yes, this little lady is quite the charmer. I mean, you weren't even interested and still had a drink with her, right?"

Marinette could feel his eyebrows wiggling as she groaned and Nathanaël laughed even more. "Very, very true. I can see why you succumbed. Her sealing line for me was that she's an actress. Always gotta protect the arts."

"Ah speaking of, Mari dear, what piece should we buy?" Adrien asked, as if he was asking her what dessert she wanted.

"What?" Nathanaël asked, more stunned than Marinette at his casual behavior.

"Huh?" Adrien leaned back off of his wife and studied the two of them. He fell into the defensive and rubbed the back of his neck as he rush to say, "Oh, is this not that kind of show? Father always buys a piece if he approves of the artist to show his support. He often picks one out based on price so he can subtly show how much he supports them. I figured since you were Marinette's friend we'd just get which ever one she likes most. Not that I'm apposed to buying the most expensive one. Especially since you are such an environmentalist, gotta protect that too, right? Sorry for being weird..."

"NO! No, uh, it's very much that kind of show. I just, uh was.... very startled. To be honest you've been my celebrity crush since I was a teenager so I, uh..." Nathanaël stammered as his face reddened considerably.

"Oh really? I should have told you that I married him then! I bet it would have been easier to get you to go out for that drink with me!" Marinette bubbled, trying to diffuse what she thought was going to be sudden tension.

To both of their surprise, Adrien brightened up. "I'm your celebrity crush? Oh I'm so flattered! We should do a picture then. Mari will you take it please?" He motioned for Nathanaël to pull out his phone.

Extremely nervous and giddy, he practically threw it at her and wrapped his arms around Adrien's waist. He blushed and pulled back to wrap just one arm around him and pose the other on his hip. He fluttered a little bit, trying to find a natural position. Adrien just wrapped an arm around Nathanaël's waist and smiled brightly towards his wife. Still a little stunned herself, Marinette brought up the camera app and focused in on the two. She took a quick test shot to make sure she had the controls right. "Ok, say 茄子, er, uh, eggplant?"

Nathanaël started to say "Wistiti!" however choked that off with a gasp as Adrien turned and kissed him on the cheek as Marinette took the picture. She laughed at the look on his face, and told them to hold it so she get a good one too. Nathanaël seemed to be vibrating as he waited to get his phone back and review the image. "My boyfriend is going to be so jealous. You're his celebrity crush too. Too bad he's not here anymore. He had something come up for work; he's the manager at L'Arc. Oh god, I'm going to be on cloud nine for months."

They all laughed and Adrien tugged Marinette back to his side. She shot him a quick smile, then turned her attention back to the fangirling man beside her. "Come down to Earth for a second, is this piece sold already or can I claim it for us?" she asking, gesturing to the statue.

Nathanaël paused and scrutinized her for a second. Then he seemed to catch up with her and said, "Oh, you want this one? This may be selfish of me, but could I install it for you?" He started blushed and waved his hands in front of him. "I mean, not so I can see your house! I don't want to be a creepy stalker fan! I just want to make sure that it's displayed properly!"

"Because it's your baby, right?" Marinette asked, giving him a gentle smile. "I'm home almost, oh wait! I have rehearsals now! I almost forgot to tell you, Nathanaël! I'm going to play the whore in _The Fairies are thirsty_. Ok, I realize that doesn't sound glamorous or anything, but there are only three parts in the entire play so it's actually a really good part. It was written by a Canadian playwright and it's a very feminist piece, discussing the rolls women are pigeon-holed into in life and how we need to strive to overcome them. So you should actually make sure Adrien will be home. Not that you'll mind I'm sure but yeah." Marinette shrugged, smiling between the men.

Adrien leaned on her again and hummed. "Would Saturday work? Around 3 so sleeping beauty is up and dressed?"

"Hey!"

"Yeah, that would be great. Would it be ok if my boyfriend came too? I mean, to help of course, but he'll also be so upset if I don't try to help him meet you."

"Perfect, I'd love to meet him too. It looks like we need to stop monopolizing your time though. Did you want the check tonight or on Saturday?" Adrien asked, nodding to the patron hovering behind Nathanaël.

Surprised, the artist turned to greet them, throwing a quick, "Saturday's fine!" before devoting himself to this new person interested in buying something. Marinette tugged Adrien away to look at the final piece so they could go home. Marinette was really hoping that Saturday would answer her question as to if Nathanaël was someone for Ladybug to keep an eye on or not.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> http://www.canadiantheatre.com/dict.pl?term=Les%20F%E9es%20ont%20soif -- the play Mari has been cast in. When I was in Germany, I went to several plays and all of them were really weird by the normal play-going standards I have in my head. So while this is the play I'm having Marinette perform in, I'm going to tweak it to fit that. Stay tuned to find out what I mean! :D
> 
> 茄子--Chinese qie2zi (eggplant) phrase used when taking a picture (very similar pronunciation to the English word cheese.)
> 
> *I checked with lilas-ink on tumblr for what the French phrase would be and they provided me with Whisky or Wistiti (which is a monkey!) and with Nathanaël being a nature lover, I'm going to go the monkey route.


	10. Staging 101

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ok so I haven't edited this a bunch like I've been trying to do before posting a chapter, but I want to get this out since you've all been so patient. Please let me know of any mistakes!
> 
> I don't know how this chapter happened. I kept telling myself "this part will be quick" then proceeded to write over a thousand words for it. I wasn't even going to name the director, then she became Bridgette with grouchy stage manager Felix. I was going to make Rose the other actress and decided I was being too much and changed her to an OC. I couldn't decide if I should let you guys meet the boyfriend this chapter or wait longer. 
> 
> It was a mess. I hope it's an enjoyable mess though. Christmas turned into a weather induced debacle so I do not have any extra and cannot guarantee when the next chapter will come. I will try to be quick though so I can have something by next week.

"CUT!"

Marinette sighed, smacking her face with her open script. It seemed every 5 minutes director Bridgette wasn't happy with something. It was really grating on everyone's nerves. First they weren't saying their lines loud enough. Then their singing was too loud. Blocking changed almost constantly. At first they were just following the script suggestions, but then the director decided that Marinette shouldn't move outside of a 2 meter circle. Then she decided that Juleka should just not move at all. She was playing the statue of the Virgin Mother. Then the director decided that Juleka should move, but with great difficulty. Then the director decided that Claire, who was playing Marie the Mother, needed to be more anxious about everything. Then Claire was being too twitchy. Now it looked like Marinette's turn.

"Marguerite! Melanie is supposed to be drunk as she says this! You need to be more drunk!"

Marinette gritted her teeth. Claire had become Chloe and Juleka was Julia. They couldn't decide if the director was doing this on purpose, to 'put them in their place.' Or if she was drunk herself and couldn't remember what their actual names were. "Slurring my words isn't good? What would you like me to do instead to indicate that I'm drunk while I bemoan my lost children?"

"Act drunk!"

"I thought I was!"

"Do better!"

The other two girls shot her sympathetic looks as Marinette positively boiled. She turned the page back and slumped down on the acting block. Holding up an unsteady finger, she slurred, "Once upon a time, there was a pizza dough as light as a little girl, and it was whirled-" she stood up and did a pirouette, though she stumbled the end. Holding her head, she fell back on the acting block and continued. "-at arm's end by an Italian gentleman who knew how to make it flip and twirl." She then mimicked watching someone toss dough. She let her head spin in small circles as her eyes spun with the imaginary movements getting faster as she spoke, "The dough, like a little girl, whirled and twirled faster and faster, and finally, took flight-" Then she held her head again as if trying to steady herself. "-until she was safe and sound high up in the sky. And the Italian gentleman is still looking for his dough...." Marinette threw her arms up, then dropped them to her sides and leaned back a little to study the ceiling. Letting out a chocked sob, she fell forward again, and pretended to hold a baby. "A beautiful little girl. Oh, I'd like to rock myself as you rock a child." She now wrapped her arms around herself and started rocking. "Slowly, gently. And have the smell of that fresh body in my arms." She brought her arms forward again, tearing up even more. "A little girl. Two little girls. And a little boy, too." She adjusted her arms like she was adding more children to her hold. She flipped the page and started to say "Three children-"

"CUT!!! Disgusting. None of you understand how to act. That's not drunk! What drunkard do you know slurring like that and stumbling so much! Getting lost in their own story!"

"What are you talking about! What drunk doesn't do that?" Marinette shouted right back.

"Ok, that's it. Felix, bring me the cognac!" Bridgette shouted to the stage manager. Marinette's mouth dropped. She could have sworn she just saw the hints of a smile on the director's face. Felix came running back with five glasses and a bottle of Remy Martin. "One for you too?" she asked as she started pouring.

"There's no way sober me will ever deal with drunk you," he responded with a very dry look.

Confused the three actresses came over. Bridgette handed everyone a glass and, after clinking them together, threw hers back. The three shrugged and downed theirs as well. Juleka was the only one of the five who coughed. "What? I'm supposed to be the Virgin Mother, remember?" she asked defensively.

Bridgette laughed and slapped her on the back, almost making Juleka fall over. "Ah, too pure for this world. Knew it. Sorry for being such a bitch, but Felix doesn't let me drink unless I provide a plausible reason." Felix just rolled his eyes and refilled everyone's glass. She winked at all of them before continuing. "And loosening everyone up to act better is a great reason!"

"So... You want us to be drunk for every rehearsal?" Claire asked, knocking back her second drink with ease.

"Oh no! No, no of course not. Just the first one or two, loosen us up and make sure we are comfortable together. Besides, it's always fun to do a drunken run and see what comes out of it. Sometimes nothing, especially with something serious like this, but sometimes! Gold happens! By the way, Marinette, darling, you were a perfect drunk. I also like pissing off my actors to make sure they are passionate about their part. So, good job!" She smiled and gave her a thumbs up.

"Ok, so you do know all of our names?" Juleka asked. Bridgette nodded, downing her second glass. Juleka eyed her second drink before caving and trying to down it. She only got it half down before sputtering and handing it over to Claire. Then she took Marinette's glass before she could even try. "Hey, did you learn nothing from your engagement party?"

Bridgette and Claire turned to them highly interested but it was Felix who said, "What's this about an engagement party?"

"Mari is a major light weight. She did three shots due to one of the others egging her on and after practically dry humping her at-the-time fiance, much to the amusement of everyone in the bar, while she did the fourth, she promptly threw up." Both of the other two women gasped, with Claire trying to cover her smile with her hand and Bridgette openly laughing as she clapped.

"Oh my god, Juleka! Don't tell it like that!"

"You did not see the body shot. You were plastered. I was only on my second drink. I think I am more likely to remember than you."

"Wait a minute here," Felix interjected. "You're married?"

"Um, well yeah, newly wed," Marinette admitted, worried about the fierceness of his gaze.

"You didn't say that on your application."

"Oh god, Felix. What difference does that make?" Bridgette said, laughing as she poured herself a third drink.

"Because she lied. She said she was single," he answered, taking the glass from her and downing it himself.

"Pffft, I still say I'm single when I audition too. Women audition better that way. Besides, unless she has a kid that she might need to rush out for and didn't tell us, her family life is no big deal," Bridgette reasoned, taking a pull straight from the bottle. Felix frowned and took the bottle away from her, capping it. Before he could start back in, she waved her hands at the actresses to get them back on stage. "We need to get on with this though. We only get the space for another two hours and I want to finish blocking today so we know what this is going to look like!"

And with that, drunken rehearsal resumed, everyone required to take a pull if Bridgette deemed them 'excessively sober.' Marinette called the Gorilla at the end of it because she wasn't sure if she could manage public transport home. She ended up giving Juleka a ride as well and they commiserated over Bridgette still being a massive bitch, still nit-picking every single thing they did. Then the Gorilla had to help her upstairs, because she was 'giving up on life and refused to go on.' Adrien was very surprised when his chauffeur entered, carrying in his wife, who was completely wasted at two-o'clock in the afternoon. The Gorilla didn't give him and time to ask anything either. He just shoved Marinette into Adrien's arms and left. Adrien sighed, and propped her up on the living room sofa. He gave her a large glass of water and proceeded to make some coffee. Nathanaël and his boyfriend were supposed to be there in and hour and Marinette had been really looking forward to it. He went back to her to switch drinks and saw that she was out cold.

Before he could decide the likely-hood of Nathanaël being on his way across town already, the doorbell rang. Checking his watch, he saw that it was only 2:26. Answering revealed the back of a man he had never met before. He started backing in and Nathanaël popped up from the other side of the box. "Hey Adrien! This is Théo, my boyfriend. I know we're early, but Théo had something come up and needs to get this done ASAP. I hope Marinette's already home from rehearsal?"

Adrien gave them a model smile, closing the door behind them. "Well, she's home, but for some reason she's wasted and has passed out on the couch."

"She was cast in _The Fairies are Thirsty_ , no? Bridgette Bernard was directing that if I remember correctly. And she is known for drinking when she directs. I wouldn't be surprised if she somehow convinced her husband to let her drink by having them all drink. Where are we putting this? Sorry, it's heavy," Théo said. His shirt had the sleeves either cut or ripped off and it was clear that his muscles were strained.

Apologizing profusely, Adrien motioned to the pedestal and offered to hold the statue while Nathanaël positioned it. After 20 minutes with him still undecided, Théo barked that he had places to be and Nathanaël jumped to finish. They placed the statue and Adrien asked advice for lighting. The whole thing took about 50 minutes with Marinette snoring away on the couch the whole time. Adrien had tried waking her up once, but she smacked him rather forcefully without waking so he gave up. He waved the two men out, cleaned up the slight mess they created and moved his wife to their bed.

Marinette woke up with hair plastered all over her face. She looked around, noting that she was in bed and that the sky was a rosy gold. She looked for the alarm clock and found that it was 7:14pm. She yawned and crawled out of bed to find out what was going on. She found Adrien cooking in the kitchen. She was still surprised that he did all of his own cooking. It was secretly her favorite thing about being married. Not that she couldn't cook herself, but after a long day she was usually too lazy to cook and would just eat whatever was easy. Which typically wasn't all that healthy for her. It was best when she got ambitious on a free day and cooked up a bunch of food so she could have a mountain of leftovers.

"Hey Adrien," she called out, sleep still heavy in her voice. The fluorescence in the kitchen chose that moment to start aggravating a headache that had formed right behind her eyes. "I'm kinda confused, why does my head hurt and why am I asleep at 7pm?"

"Well," he started as he turned around with a giant glass of water and some pain relievers. "You came home from rehearsal this morning drunk. I was kinda hoping you could clarify that one for me. And you passed out on the couch, hence the sleeping till now." He crossed his arms, leaning on the counter and looked at her expectantly.

"Drunk?" She stared at him, incredulous. She took the pills and drank all the water. Then she leaned back in the bar stool and thought. She could now remember that rehearsal was this morning and she totally went to that. _Drunk?_ "OH MY GOD! SO my director is a HUGE bitch, ow..." She had made a huge motion with her hands and the movement made her head **pound**. Rubbing her temples with the index and middle fingers of each hand, she continued. "She wasn't satisfied with anything. Finally she decided we needed to drink to relax everyone and it turns out her husband, who is the stage manager, hates it when she drinks during rehearsals. I think I know why. She was just as much of a bitch after she got liquored up. Though, she was just being nit-picky at that point and not intentionally saying we sucked to rile us up. Oh my god I got so drunk. Thankfully Juleka told them how much of a lightweight I am because otherwise I probably would have been sent back early or gotten alcohol poisoning or something..." At Adrien's panicked look she backtracked quickly. "Though that was the only drunk rehearsal we'll be doing! For one, Felix said we couldn't do another one because she got too rowdy. But also, Claire and Juleka and I all agree that we don't want to do it again. So don't worry!"

Adrien frowned, searching for something in her eyes before turning back to the stove. As he stirred something that was making her mouth water, he called back over his shoulder, "Oh you missed Nathanaël and his boyfriend, Théo. They got here just a short bit after you conked out. Both were really bummed. Though, Théo said that Bridgette has a reputation so he wasn't really surprised and won't hold it against you."

"What! I missed them! That's not fair! Damn it! I hate my director..." she pouted, getting up to refill her water. She was trying to calm herself down. She needed to know if this Théo could possibly be The Hawk! _Damn it!_ "I was supposed to take a picture of the three of you for them too... Did you guys make that work?" _Please say you have a photo of him!_

Adrien leaned down to check something in the oven before looking back at her. "We did a group selfie. We only took one on Théo's phone though because he needed to get going. Apparently there was an unexpected shipment or something to the bar so he needed to head over there ASAP."

"Not fair! Damn Bridgette Bernard! How am I supposed to gossip with Nath about how cute his boy is if I still don't know what he looks like?" she whined, her petulant voice getting so high she further aggravated her hangover. She slumped in her chair, banging her head on the counter (very lightly) exactly once.

"I don't know if my opinion counts, but I think I'd classify him as a hottie. They have clearly been dating for a long time. They moved so well together, almost like they had the same mind split into two bodies," Adrien replied as he started filling two plates with food.

"Tch, what would you know? You're just the celebrity crush. Ugh and I suppose the photo won't go on Nathanaël's Facebook or end up on his phone either since Théo apparently sucks at sharing. God I wish Théo was on some form a social media where he posted photos of himself! All he has is Instagram and Twitter, and really they're both just for the bar since all he ever posts are beautiful new cocktails and event times." Marinette stabbed at the lettuce on her plate, frowning at it before chomping down and glaring out the window.

Adrien moved to sit beside her at the counter, handing her a napkin as she now had dressing on her cheek. "How would you know this?" he asked as he delicately ate at his own salad.

"I stalked him of course. What every good friend should do! Make sure he's not a creep or something!" _Or the right hand man of a criminal!_

"Mari, he's known Théo longer than he's known you."

"Still.... Friends have to look out for each other! What if he was in an abusive relationship and was in denial? Can we go to L'Arc? I want to meet Théo!"

Adrien swallowed and set his silverware down. Turning to her, he grabbed her shoulders and said, "Even if he was working there tonight, which he's not, the answer would be a solid N-O because I need to make sure my alchy wife doesn't kill herself.

"RUDE!" Marinette protested as she shook his hands off. She stewed for all of three seconds before she remembered the home cooked meal under her nose. "Damn it, I can't even be mad at you. You take such good care of me," she pouted as she picked up her fork and started eating again.

He chuckled, taking a sip from his water glass. "I love taking care of you," he whispered, like an afterthought. He face flared up and he stammered out, "Uh, um, besides, Alya would KILL me if she thought I was being negligent. Haha, yeah so I do my best!" He gave her a toothy smile, quickly picking his glass up again. "Look, we'll just set up some other time for you to meet him. He did mention that he's excited to meet that awake and charming side of you," he chuckled, tipping his glass. However he ended up pouring it down his front instead of into his mouth. They both gasped. The water slowly trickled down to the floor. Hanging his head for a moment, he sighed and took his shirt off. He used the dry portion to clean up what was on the floor. Marinette couldn't help giggling until he stood back up, he chest and abs glistening from where the water soaked through. Her breathe hitched as she watched him run his hand through his hair. With the light from the setting sun streaming through the windows, the whole ordeal looked like a professional photo shoot. She was broken from her stupor when Adrien said, "Man, I got my pants all wet too. I'm going to go change. Please continue with out me." He left and she couldn't help it as her eyes tracked his ass out of the room. He gave it a little wiggle before disappearing from her sight, and her face flushed more than his had.

His laughter rang through the apartment and settled into her ears as she tried to eat the rest of her meal.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Drunk run-throughs are typically not done until everyone actually knows their script (if they are the kind of cast to do that sort of thing) however the story just kind of happened that way. I do not advise getting wasted first thing in the morning. Especially at rehearsal. At least they don't have props yet to hurt themselves.


	11. More Questions than Answers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I can't tell for sure because I'm on a computer that doesn't have Word, but I think this chapter is shorter than the others. However, that was a definite stopping point and I didn't see a spot to expand on, so I guess this just means getting started on the next one sooner. Enjoy!

Ladybug ducked underneath the table. Someone entered the room, and started shifting things around. When Ladybug was starting to loose feeling in her feet, they finally shut the lights back off to leave. However, someone called out to them.

"Maurice, what are you doing?"

"What do you mean what am I doing? I put that stuff away and now I'm going out to finish unloading the other truck."

"Wait, you unloaded the first truck already?"

"The one from Baden-Württemberg? Yeah, of course I did. I want to go home!"

"You idiot! None of that stuff was supposed to go in here! They were for the other store room!"

"Wait, the other one?"

"You idiot, you better hope none of that stuff leaves traces. The Feds check this room! We need to get it out of here ASAP."

"Mon Dieu! Well you'll need to help me then!"

"I'll go grab a cart."

The second person left in a hurry, and the one that remained started shifting things around again. Ladybug shifted a compact to see what information could be gleaned from the packaging. There was a label in German but the lighting was too dim in the room for her to decipher anything. It was great to limit glare from her mirror, but sucky for reading foreign languages from a distance. She heard the second person coming back and quickly closed the compact. They didn't say anything as they started pulling everything that Maurice had gathered out into the hallway. She grabbed her cell and sent a quick text to Chat Noir. _**anyhtin weird in hr?**_ She turned the screen down and strained her ears to hear anything going on. With no notifications turned on, she had to just keep checking it until he finally responded.

_No, m'lady. I'd offer to go sniff the place out myself, unfortunately I am a cat and not a dog._

Ladybug rolled her eyes and didn't even bother responding to that comment. She heard the click of the lock and jumped up. Slipping her night vision goggles over her eyes she checked the room. She couldn't see anything out of of the ordinary for a store room. There wasn't any radiation, Chat would have said something. Was it drugs then? What else could leave behind a trail simply from having been somewhere? She gently touched various sections of the shelves, but no dust or powder came off. She sighed internally and slipped off the goggles. Opening an app on her phone, she found that the hallways she came in through were clear and she ducked out of there.

Ladybug exited L'Arc through the side employee entrance. She signaled Chat Noir to cut the overlay on the security cameras. She had confirmation now that something was going down at L'Arc, even if she still didn't know if Théo was The Hawk. At least it was confirmed that L'Arc was a distribution location for SOMEONE. God, if only Bridgette hasn't been so weird! Then maybe Ladybug would know if she should feel skeevy for doing this. Théo was good at discretion though, she had yet to see the front of him in any of the cameras she had placed. As she well knew, hair meant nothing, so all she could do was continue trying.

Rain started to fall. Ladybug glanced at it in dismay. She might get in some hot water with her husband if he found out she snuck out after he put her on lock down. Pulling her hood up and tight around her face, she rounded a corner and ran right into a very large person. They immediately wrapped their arms around her and hoisted her up. Her legs kicked out into open air. Gritting her teeth, she craned her head back to try and get a look at her assailant. Luck was on her side. Though their features were hidden by a ski mask, their face was level with hers. She swung forward, smacking her forehead into their nose.

The world crashed down around her, but she didn't hesitate, instead bolting across the street, jumping out of the way of a speeding taxi at the last second. She pulled her phone to her ear, not completely surprised to see that he was already calling her. "Which way?" she gasped after she accepted the call.

"Take the next left, straight a block then right, and left into the next ally way," came that beautiful tenor that calmed her heart in a single beat.

"Got it." She slammed her phone back into her pocket, not bothering to make sure she hung up. Her attacker was larger than her, meaning longer legs. Unless they were really out of shape or something, they would be able to take her over if she distracted herself too much.

Lungs and thighs burning, Ladybug followed the instructions. Even though she expected it, for some reason she was still surprised when she turned the last corner to find Chat Noir in all his glory. He was on a motorcycle, covered neck to ankle in black leather. On his feet were thick black boots, and his black helmet had cat ears sticking out of the top of it. The visor was tinted green. He was holding out a candy red helmet to her. She thanked every high power she could think of that she had plaited her hair before she left and slammed it down on her head. She had barely jumped on the bike behind him before he tore out the other side of the ally way.

Looking back showed her assailant cursing their retreating figure. Ladybug gripped Chat Noir tighter, pressing her helmeted face into his back. She took deep breaths trying to call her erratic heart. The bike never slowed. They were well outside of city limits when she realized it was because they were being traced somehow. Digging into her pockets, she found a tracker that her attacker had slipped her. She tossed it into the ditch, then clung to her partner again.

It took the rest of the night to effectively loose the car that had been trailing them. Chat Noir didn't say a word as he dropped her off at the cafe she had broken down in and rode off. She was certain that he was going to pester her for a date or something. To be honest, she was actually a little upset that he hadn't at least slipped her a card asking for a coffee date at a set place and time or something equally romantic and over the top. Dejected about him and her lack of any solid information, she set about changing and powering down her electronics so she could go home.

Trudging into the penthouse at a gloriously disgusting 5:38am, Marinette did her best to not wake her husband as she moved around the apartment. She went to her "changing room" to get rid of her street clothes and dry off, swung by the kitchen for some water, and finally crept into their bedroom. However, she neededn't have bothered. The bed was empty. The shower kicked on at that exact moment, making her jump and notice the light under the door. _Did he notice I was gone? Oh my god, what am I going to tell him?_ She started pacing, pulling on her braid-wavy locks. That lasted for all of 30 seconds before she shot straight up. _Wait a minute..._ She made her way to the bathroom door. Leaning against it, she asked, "Adrien? Honey, what are you doing in the shower? You don't normally get up on Sundays until 8:00?"

"Huh? What was that, Mari?"

"I said, why are you awake?" she half shouted, grabbing the door knob.

The water turned off and she heard him push the shower door open. "What? I have a meeting at 7:00 with the designers for that commercial Father wanted to do for some charity organization."

She frowned, slightly turning the knob. "Adrien, that's not until Monday. It's Sunday right now."

"Wait, what?" Now shuffling could be heard as Adrien sought out a towel. She could hear him approach the door and carefully released the knob before stepping back. "What do you mean it's Sunday right now?" he asked as he swung the door open.

"I mean, you still have a whole 24 hours before you need to be taking this particular shower," she replied, holding her phone up to him to show the day. She did her best to keep her eyes on his face as he took it from her, running his other hand through his hair before sighing and handing it back.

"You weren't in bed. I thought that meant it was Monday and I forgot to set my alarm or slept through it or something and was going to be late," he huffed in annoyance, going back into the bathroom.

She gave him a gentle smile as she followed him. "I had gotten a drink of water," she told him, tilting her head toward the kitchen. Luck was with her that for once she wasn't racking up a lie with him. Maybe she could finally neutralize her karma again.

He leaned his elbows on the counter, resting his face in his hands. She couldn't control her eyes as the towel slipped a little bit. _God, what are you, a horny teenager?!_ He groaned and looked back at her. "Ok, well, I'm going to wallow in here for a minute before I get back into my pajamas. Why don't you go back to sleep?"

If he hadn't shot that sheepish smile her way, that honestly was made of a million watts or something, she was absolutely certain that her legs wouldn't have turned to jelly and that an embarrassingly high pitched giggled wouldn't have made it's home in the back of her throat. Or maybe if he had a shirt on. Because honestly, those abs. could. KILL. Turning, Marinette made her way back to the bed, crawling into her side. As she tried to get comfortable, she realized that the bed was cold. She swung her hand over to his side. Cold. Cold. Frigid. Cold. _Did I just catch him lying to me? God, how do I confront him though, I wasn't actually here either?_

By the time Adrien was dry (enough) and clothed again, Marinette still didn't have a plan of action. So she feigned sleep while he slipped in beside her and wrapped an arm around her. Willing herself to stay as still as possible, she let her mind race as she waited for sleep to claim them both. One thing was certain, her weekly agenda just got a new action item. Top of the list was still 'Catch Papillon,' however, 'Find out Théo was The Hawk' was bumped from the number two slot and was now taken with 'Where was Adrien Agrest at 5:00am on a Sunday morning?


	12. Breaking it down

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So we get some discussions to help cement a few things. I don't know why, but Bridgette has become the alcoholic sorority sister. Sorry/not sorry. Anyway, enjoy this particularly quick update. Who knows if I'll keep up this pace, but I will keep you updated as I can.

"Alya, stop flirting with Nino across the room and pay attention to me," Marinette huffed. She physically grabbed the journalist's chin to turn her face away from the DJ as he worked his set for L'Arc tonight. After several days of conflicting schedules, they were finally able to meet up so Marinette could brainstorm over her husband with an outside (and therefore unbiased) source.

"Right, right, girl. I'm all ears," Alya replied, still not breaking eye contact from her beau.

"I need your eyes too," she muttered. Still unsuccessful, Marinette searched for something to help her. A mischievous smile over took her face as she intentionally started to flail. "God Alya, I just, I don't know what to do!" She punctuated the 'do' with smacking the back of her hand into the water glass. Which effectively spilled across the table and into Alya's lap. Marinette quickly grabbed the glass before it could fall to the floor. When she looked back up Alya was glaring at her. "Ah FINALLY, I have your undivided attention."

"Alright, alright FINE. You win! No more goo-goo eyes." Alya nabbed a handful of napkins and started drying off her lap.

Marinette grinned, casually sipping her own water while waiting for Alya to finish. When she leaned her elbows on the table to cradle her face in her hands, Marinette took a deep breathe, and spilled it all at once. "I think Adrien is cheating or something."

Alya started laughing so uproariously that neighboring tables were starting to stare. Marinette took to smacking her until she finally calmed down. "Adrien? Puppy dog, so-in-love-with-you-he-literally-will-do-anything-for-you Agreste is having an affair?" Alya wiped a tear out from underneath her eye and shook her head. "What possible evidence do you have?"

"I know cheating is really super unrealistic, and honestly I shouldn't care because of, you know. But so I was out last night, scoping a place, and when I came home, Adrien was not only up, but he had gotten into the shower, claiming he thought it was Monday. This from the man who grounded me before we went to bed because I got wasted at rehearsal. And instead of being all high inquisitor and finding out where I'd been, he acted like he was the one who hadn't been home. Plus, when I got into bed, the whole thing was cold. He couldn't have been sleeping just before I got home. Which means he wasn't there and didn't want me to know. Oh and it was raining when I got back, so it would make sense that he needed to explain why he was wet too and couldn't just use a blow dryer like I did because I would have been able to hear it. So maybe he wasn't cheating, but he wasn't home either." Marinette twirled some hair between her fingers, worried about the look on Alya's face. Why wasn't she as scandalized as Marinette herself had been about finding this out?

Alya sighed heavily and leaned on one palm again. "So what your telling me, is you were out doing your thing, after your husband expressly told you to stay home that night, and you are worried about him not having been home? Do you think, maybe, he was just worried about where you had been and had gone looking for you?"

"What?!" Marinette frowned, she hadn't thought like that. That didn't really make sense though. "If that was the case, why wouldn't he just tell me that and ask where I'd been? I mean, not that that would have been easy for me, but it would make more sense, don't you think? Then pretending he was getting ready for work?" She shook her head, trying to accept what Alya said as truth, meaning she was fretting over nothing. But her sixth sense was telling her that that just couldn't be right.

The waitress came then with their drinks and Alya took a long draw from her strawberry daiquiri. Smirking up at her friend, she said, "If you really want to know that, why don't you ask him?

Marinette moaned and slammed her head on the table. "If I did that, I would have to admit that I was out and come up with a reasonable excuse for having left," was her muffled reply.

"This is why you should just drop it! By the way, your story had much that you need to fill me in on. There's the "wasted at rehearsal" comment that I want to look into, but work first. Anything good come of last night?" she asked pulling out her special red and black note book. She clicked her pen three times in quick succession, making Marinette cringe. She sat back up and carefully scanned the surroundings. Deeming it was safe, she gave her the quick and dirty version.

Alya took notes, noting the name Maurice, and the comment about leaving a trace, as well as took down what description Marinette could give of the attacker 'she managed to loose in an alleyway.' After combing the information a couple times and coming up with nothing new, Alya started to prod. "So what tipped you off about L'Arc anyway? Hey didn't you tell me that Nathanaël's boy was the manager here?"

"天 哪! Alya! I still haven't been him!" Marinette whine, jumping at her chance to change topic.

"Nathanaël?

"No little miss sassy! Théo!!! And it's all Bridgette's fault!" Marinette threw herself back in her chair, taking on an air of despair as Alya continued to giggle at her.

"Wait a minute, wasn't she your director?" Alya asked, sipping on her daiquiri some more. She also took this moment to put away the special notebook.

"Oh Alya, you don't understand. She's absolutely bonkers! She was so incredibly nit-picky and bitchy. Then, she tells us she was doing it so we could do a drunk read through. Turns out, still just as bitchy. Actually all week she's been a nightmare. And she can't make up her mind about a single thing! One day, we are following the stage directions written in the script. The next, we aren't using any of them and we spend hours learning the new blocking she wants. Then, she decides she wants a combination of the two. Then, get this, she decides that we can't simply be our characters, we need to be the embodiment of our symbolisms. So I'm the alcoholic prostitute, right? So she says that not only will my costume be completely slutty, but I'll have alcohol bottles littered all around my "spot." If I can make it work, she wants me shifting between different ones all performance."

"Oh my god, this sounds epic. Can I sit in on one of your rehearsals?"

"No, it's against Bridgette's rules. Anyway, so Juleka is the statue of the Virgin Mother, ok? So she has to wear this pure white gown, but have rusty old chains completely wrapped around her, symbolizing the patriarchy of course. And, she is to limit her movement. Bridgette actually has Felix drape real chains around her before each rehearsal and if they rattle when they aren't supposed to, we have to start over. Then there's--"

"Mon dieu! Marinette??!" A cheery voice broke through Marinette's tirade and both girls turned. Alya was confused, but Marinette was horrified. Doing a double take back at her best friend, Alya held a hand out to the stranger.

"Hello, my name's Alya Cé-"

"Oh Alya! So nice to meet you!!!" the woman cried out, pulling her into a bear hug. "My name's Bridgette, I'm the director of _The Fairies are Thirsty_. You will be attending, no? I would love to have a journalist who doesn't normally do performance reviews give me an opinion some time. Marinette is such a fabulous actress! I just knew, when I saw her audition, that I needed to be the one to mold her raw talent. Oh is this a girl's night? Don't mind if I do. Waiter! A bottle of cognac please!" Bridgette barely took a breath between words. Alya stared wide eyed at Marinette as the poor girl helplessly tried to get control back. Finally they hit a reprieve when Bridgette took a drink straight from the bottle.

"Bridgette! What are you doing here? Were you meeting someone? I'm surprised to see you without Felix for once," Marinette said, almost as quickly as Bridgette had been speaking. She smiled as the other girl settled into an extra chair and poured herself her first actual drink of the night.

"Oh that sour puss is around somewhere. Don't worry about him. He'll just take the liquor away when he finds me. So when were you going to tell me that you were friends with the infamous Alya Césaire?" she asked, downing her entire glass.

Alya let out an appreciative whistle while Marinette stammered, "Infamous?" She turned to Alya who tried to suppress a grin as she shrugged.

Bridgette rolled her eyes as she refilled her glass to sip at. "I mean, she's only the journalist giant who single handedly takes down every sleazy politician who tries to worm their way up to the top. You should have seen how she made Mayor Bourgeois squirm! I really wish I knew the dirt on him, but she promised not to tell if he cleaned up his act. His approval rating went through the roof after he did though! You still not gonna let anything slip?" she asked, side-eyeing the journalist.

Alya smiled, calmly sipping her drink. "My lips are sealed, Bridgette."

Bridgette slumped, pouting only for the briefest of moments. However, something caught her eye. "Mon dieu! Hottie alert! Since when did celebs start frequenting L'Arc? Maybe I do need to come here more often!" Marinette frowned, but Alya excitedly started searching the crowd for who she was talking about. Glancing to the crowd, she saw none other than one Adrien Agreste, super model, billionaire, philanthropist, (and her husband) coming towards them. "He's coming this way! Act natural!" Bridgette swatted at both of them before picking up her drink and smiling cheerily.

Marinette tried to look for a way out, but Felix chose that moment to come up from behind her. She nearly jumped out of her chair as he started talking. "There you are! God and they let you at the cognac already. Marinette, you should have stopped her."

Marinette gaped at him, before noticing the shock and awe overcoming Bridgette's face. Before she could question that though, a familiar pair of arms slipped around her. Cursing what was probably bad karma from the numerous lies she had told him since moving in with him, she turned to her husband and met his lips in a quick kiss. "Hey honey, I didn't know you'd be here tonight. I wouldn't have set up a girl's night otherwise." She smile at him sweetly, hoping he didn't hear the twin gasps coming from behind her.

Adrien chuckled, resting his chin on her shoulder as he squeezed her middle. "Well, Nino is playing tonight. And the shoot got postponed, so I got some unexpected free time. I don't believe we've met though. Hello, I'm Adrien, Marinette's husband," he greeted, holding out a hand towards Felix and Bridgette. The latter grasped her husband and tried to keep herself from hyperventilating. Felix just continued to scowl. Adrien's hand faltered as neither of them took it, but he kept the model smile plastered in place.

"Dieu, Marinette, you know so many famous people! Bonjour, M. Agreste! I am Bridgette Bernard, director of _The Fairies are Thirsty._ I can expect you at the premier, no?" She smiled prettily at him, though still didn't take his hand.

Shrugging, he wrapped his arm back around Marinette and nodded. "Of course I'd be at the debut performance of my talented wife. Though I hear I have you to thank for her almost hospitalization on Saturday?" He said it with a nonchalant tone, but Marinette had felt him stiffen when she introduced herself and he still hadn't relaxed. _Damn is he good at schmoozing._

Felix gave a sharp laugh. "That would be my wife, alright. I'm Felix, by the way. So this is the secret husband you didn't want to tell us about." Felix glared at Marinette. Before she could even think of a response, Adrien and Alya had both jumped to her defense.

"What's so wrong about wanting to make it in the world by her own virtues?"

"Mari doesn't want to get things just because of my last name. I fully support her auditioning as Dupain-Cheng. Hell, I would have taken her last name if Father wouldn't have thrown a hissy fit."

Marinette blushed and Bridgette held up her hands "Grâce! Grâce! Haha, Felix is just uptight, he didn't like that he didn't know she was married. Though to be honest, I do the same thing. So no qualms here!"

Felix rolled his eyes and pulled on his wife. "You need to stop and we need to get going. We have stuff to do tonight, Bridgette."

Bridgette slumped and pouted again. "But Felix!" she whined, "I have here two honest to god Parisian celebrities and you just want me to walk away? No fair!"

"Then get a phone number or an autograph or whatever. We **need** to leave." He had discreetly removed the cognac bottle from the table at some point. Which greatly impressed Marinette as she thought she was paying better attention than that. However, she did see him slip it to a passing waiter at this moment. She kept the smile from her lips as both Adrien and Alya gave her their numbers and promised to come to the premier. The Bernards then took their leave, at which point Bridgette noticed her lack of liquor and started whining to her husband again.

Alya chuckled and turned back to her friends. "Wow. So that, was... yeah."

Marinette groan and smacked her face down on the table. "Yes. I get to deal with that at every rehearsal. Except usually then it's about the crazy different things she wants to do."

"Well I can see why she can't make up her mind then. And is her blood just made of cognac?"

Adrien perked up and added "Probably. Hey Mari, did you tell her about the glass bottle?"

Marinette groaned again but Alya cut in. "You mean the liquor bottles littering her spot? Yeah she told me about all of them." She winked but dropped her cheeky grin as both of them shook their heads.

"No, so get this. She has decided that Claire is to be trapped withing a house, and even as she breaks away she'll carry around pieces of it. Juleka will be chucking her marble casing as we go. I on the other hand, will be the lucky one trapped withing a gigantic glass bottle for the entire performance. She's commissioning Nathanaël to make it actually. She says he's made strange set pieces for her in the past."

"Zut alors, you mean, like, you could suffocate up there? Talk about suffering for your craft..." Alya said, finishing off her drink and pushing it to the side.

"Well no, they aren't going to cap it or anything. Before we start, they'll lower me into it with the fly system and when it's over they'll reattach the hooks and lift me back out. But I'll definitely be screwed if the flies break down." She shrugged Adrien off of her and he took the seat Bridgette had vacated. Their waitress then appeared and Adrien put in an order for food as well as all of them getting another drink. It was then that Marinette realized she hadn't even touched her first one, so focused on her stories. She started to sip on it as Adrien started speaking.

"I'm really not happy about this at all by the way. Though, I thought that might be why you were here tonight. To talk to Nathanaël and Théo about the design I mean."

Marinette shot up. "Wait is Théo here tonight?" Adrien nodded, but grabbed her when she tried to bolt from the table. She shot him a quizzical look.

"I ran into him before you guys. He said he was meeting with the Bernards to go over the logistics of the piece. However, he said it was happening elsewhere and told me to say 'hi.' When I saw you with them, I thought you were part of that meeting. But I guess not." He played with the empty water glass from before as he gave her a sympathetic smile.

"Argh! You have got to be kidding me!" Marinette started banging her head on the table again. Adrien reached over to pat her shoulder and Alya took out her phone to take a video.

"And here is a prime example of a woman at her wits end. Stay tuned for more Street Happenings, brought to you by Alya Césaire!" Marinette sat up and glared and Alya giggled. The three dissolved in talk about various other subjects, with the occasional group dancing when Nino played a particularly good song. At the end of his shift, the DJ joined them. He teased Marinette for the video Alya had forwarded him and they ended the night on a happy (and only lightly intoxicated) note. 

While everything had felt normal, Marinette couldn't get over the feeling of something being off about Adrien. Especially when Nino had cryptically asked about how "that thing" from "the other day" had gone and Adrien gave a non-committal "yeah, good" before moving on to another topic. Contemplating it on the way home, she realized that Alya had seemed to latch on the new topic quickly instead of ribbing him for more information. She belatedly realized that Alya wasn't suspicious of him because she was in on whatever was going on. _And she lied to my face about it!_ She smiled at Adrien as he held the door open for her, but internally she was screaming at whatever was going on with all of them that they weren't telling her.

She was going to get to the bottom of this. Even if she had to use Ladybug to do it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 天 哪 - tiān na- Mandarin- Oh my god!  
> Mon dieu!- French- Oh my god!  
> Grâce-French-(taken from crier grâce-cry for mercy)  
> Zut alors- French-darn/damn


	13. Falling apart

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which something big happens.

Marinette was fuming. She had the wrong time down for the start of rehearsal, and therefore missed meeting Théo as he and Nathanaël delivered the giant bottle that she'd be housed in for each performance. However, the flies were still being set up, so she didn't have to spend this rehearsal in there. She was sure the universe was conspiring to keep her from determining if Théo was The Hawk or not. Furthermore, her husband and friends kept acting shadier and shadier around her. She was ready to quit the lot of them. The cushy life she'd been living since coming to Paris was really the only thing stopping her. She decided though, that once the final performance of _The Fairies are Thirsty_ was over, she was going to disappear for a few days. LB needed to get somewhere and Marinette seemed to be holding her back right now.

She still didn't know what had been put in that storeroom the night she staked out L'Arc. She also couldn't find any evidence of an additional storeroom. She had gotten all the schematics for the building and the many renovations over the years and still couldn't find any indications of a room that she hadn't already found in person. Her luck did give her something though. Going through old information she had saved to the secure cloud system Chat Noir had set up for her, she found the same description of her assailant as someone having worked for Papillion in the past. That cemented that he at least used the space, regardless of Théo's involvement. But that wasn't enough information to do anything with. She was ready to cry out in frustration.

Her biggest problem was that she didn't have the time to do anything useful. Thanks to that bedtime routine (and the fact that she had a "job" right now) she had to be home for bedtime when Adrien was. She had no excuse to be gallivanting all night like she did in the beginning. She was never more thankful for all the leg work she had done those first couple weeks. But she could feel resentment boiling up inside her, especially the more and more suspicious her husband acted.

Marinette fanned herself with her script as she watched Bridgette argue with the techs. She wanted a spotlight on each of the girls, but they were trying to convince her to do something more creative. Marinette missed most of the conversation having not been there for the start. But that was the gist that Juleka had given her when she asked. Juleka was currently on the phone with Rose and Claire was cavorting with Felix. Probably over all the cognac. Frowning, Marinette wondered why they were even here. _God, I could be going after Papillion right now! Instead I'm watching my director bicker like a little child._

Deciding she couldn't take it anymore, she strode over to Felix and Claire. "Hey, do you think we could just go over lines with you so we aren't wasting so much time? We could all use the practice."

Felix rolled his eyes and said, "There's no reason to start, Bridgette will just interrupt. We'd never get anywhere."

"Well, we aren't getting anywhere standing around either!" Huffing she turned to go back to the acting block she had been sitting on. As she walked, she muttered, "I shouldn't have even bothered coming tonight. God, I'm wasting my time..."

"If that's how you feel, **Mme. Agreste** , then why are you even in this production!" Felix shouted at her. Ever since meeting Adrien, Felix insisted on calling her Mme. Agreste at all times. Never her first name. He had taken it as a personal insult that she hadn't been upfront about that and threw it out as an insult back to her.

Marinette whirled around and stomped back over to him. Her script became her pointer finger as she jabbed it in his face to emphasize her point. "I'm sorry, since when did M. Stuck Up decide that it was alright to stand around? Last rehearsal, I asked for 5 so I could have some water and you yelled at me when I decided to sit down instead of coming straight back to work! We haven't done ANYTHING since I got here, which was almost an hour ago now! I have important things I could be doing instead of sitting here!"

"What like your husband?" Claire blurted out, before slapping her hand over her mouth. Everyone had stopped what they were doing to listen and there was a collective gasp around the room as Claire burned up like a wick. "Dieu, Marinette, I didn't meant to say that!"

Marinette was trembling with barely contained rage. Juleka rushed over to calm nerves, but Marinette shoved off her comforting hands and stormed out. Juleka called after her, but Marinette didn't hear a word of it. The fire roaring through her system demanded release. It was time for Ladybug to come out and play.

~

Marinette had sent a text to her husband of _Will be out late, don't wait up._ before powering it down and transforming into Ladybug. Tonight's costume was a long blonde ponytail, altered nose and eye shapes (though she kept the blue), a padded bra to take her up a cup, boots that added a couple inches, and the perfume Chloe had picked out saying "It's the only one **I** use." Now that she looked like the Mayor's daughter, she channeled her inner bitch and strutted off to L'Arc.

Turned out she did such a good job that she didn't even have to say anything and they just let her into the club. A staff member even escorted her to her "usual" VIP booth. Still not having said a word, someone came with a very tall, very fruity looking drink. The waitress didn't leave after she grabbed it though. She pretended that she was examining the color and texture before she took a sip. It tasted marvelous. However, Chloe would never give praise like that, so she shrugged her shoulders and set the drink down. The waitress rushed out a "Letmeknowifyouneedanythingelse!" and scurried away. Taking out a compact (that also had a camera in it), she pretended to check her make-up. None of the staff milling near the bar had the right kind of hair to match what she had seen of Théo's. Just to be sure though, she pulled out her cell (currently in the same case Chloe used), and sent Chat Noir a message to double check the footage from her com-cam.

Keeping a look of boredom on her face, she sipped her drink as she 'waited' for her entourage to arrive. Or a hot guy to hit on her. Whatever it was that usually happened to Chloe here. She checked her phone often. After more than half an hour of waiting, she decided Chat Noir must be busy tonight, as she still hadn't heard from him. Drumming her fingers on the table, she noticed a very familiar blonde head walk up to the bar. She bolted up. About to head over to him, she paused when she remembered who she looked like right now. Adrien of all people would KNOW that it wasn't Chloe clinging to him. Though if he noticed her and she didn't act that way, he's also know it wasn't her. _Crap!_

She finished her drink. Pretending to be too focused on her phone to notice Adrien, she made her wait to the VIP ladies room. There was a staff door right beside it that she pretended to not pay attention to as she went through and continued walking. Until a hand reached out to grab her.

"Hey, what are you doing back here?" asked a voice that had tormented her dreams for the past couple years. Turning, Ladybug found herself face-to-face with The Hawk.

Scrunching up her face she looked around. The lighting was too dim to take in much of his features. Why was this back room so poorly lit? "This isn't the ladies room!" she squawked in her shrillest Chloe impersonation. She shook her self free of his grip. "Where in the world am I? And why is it so dark? If I trip and fall, I'll have my daddy sue you!"

He signed, rubbing his eyes. "Mlle Bourgeouis, the bathroom was the next door over. I suggest you head back the way you came and use that one."

"You really should have better signs up. I mean seriously!" she said as she stomped away, her heart racing. She made her way to the bathroom, and sat in a stall for a minute. She confirmed that The Hawk was here. His identity was still unknown, but he knew Chloe. _Well duh, anyone would know what Chloe looks like. It's the easiest way to avoid a lawsuit._ She couldn't spend too much time in there though. Washing her hands, she left. She avoided looking at the bar until she was back to her "booth."

Frowning at the empty space, she spun around and surveyed the crowd. Adrien couldn't be seen. Internally she sighed. Externally she huffed, ignoring the refill they had brought her and left the bar. She assumed Chloe either had a tab or they would stop her to pay for the drink. All she got was a "Have a good night, Mlle. Bourgeouis!" A quick check to her phone showed that Chat still hadn't sent her anything. Deciding that confirming The Hawk's connection to L'Arc was all the excitement she needed, she changed back to Marinette.

Powering on her phone revealed 30 missed called and about 50 missed text messages. Before she could dig into any of that though, Adrien called. She paused, then answered it, making sure to sign when he could hear her. "Hey Adrien."

"WHERE ARE YOU!" Mon deiu, Mari! You have me scared out of my mind right now! Don't you DARE ignore your phone ever again!" His voice was really shaky, like he had been crying.

Marinette was really startled. However, before sympathy could sink in, she remembered how strange he'd been lately. And the time she knew he lied about his whereabouts. "I needed a time out. Practice drove me crazy and I just needed to cool off without anyone yapping at me," she snapped, not really feeling better for it.

"I'm sorry, I know you needed your space. It's just, I was worried you'd go out drinking and I don't know that that's such a great idea if you are alone."

"I can take care of myself!" she sputtered. She decided that she had used too much adrenaline and couldn't walk home. Finding a bench, she sat and waited for a cab.

"You don't really have the greatest track record with that though..." he muttered on the other end.

"What! Well, I mean, that was only two times! I am completely fine. I don't have a problem!" _People with problems always say that. **SHUT IT BRAIN!**_

"No you don't." She was surprised to hear him agree. She was even more surprised when a familiar black car pulled up beside her and he got out of the back seat. He immediately pulled her into his arms. Her brain was too busy trying to process everything, so she didn't protest as he pushed her into the car and buckled her in. They rode in silence for a while, Marinette's brain apparently back at that bench. Finally, it seemed to catch up to her with a question.

"How did you know where I was?"

He shrugged. "I, well, I thought you'd go to L'Arc and try to meet Théo or something. So I was combing the area."

"So you don't have a GPS on my phone or anything?" she pressed. He turned to her startled. _Knew it!_ He stammered, for a second but she already forged on. "I don't suppose part of your panic was because I turned my phone off, was it?"

"No, Mari, I was seriously just worried that you'd drink too much. The not being able to contact you kinda just fueled the thought that you were trying to get wasted. I mean, how else would you let off some steam?" His face had been serious, but at the last comment, rose into a shaky smile. He joke fell flat at the blank response on her face. "I mean, there are lots of other ways of course. I didn't think you'd go to the gym at this time of night though. Or like, maybe an art class? But I called Nathanaël and he said he'd let me know if he heard from you. Alya didn't think anything but drinking either. Shit, I need to let her know I found you!" He pulled out his phone and started a text to the journalist.

Marinette frowned. She didn't exactly see what he wrote out, but it definitely did NOT look like, 'All's good! Found her!' Squinting at him, he shot her another smile. At her continued stare, he coughed and slipped his phone back into his pocket. He started to stammer something out when she perked up and looked around them. "Where are we going? This isn't the way home."

"Hmm? It isn't?" he tried to ask innocently.

She glared and looked around again. She hit the button to put down the partition. "Where are we going?" Instead of answering, the Gorilla simply put the partition back up. She whirled on Adrien, who was doing his best to look like this was a complete shock to him. He was failing miserably. "I want out of this car, now!" Marinette demanded. Of course, nothing happened. Actually growling, _damn alcohol and being such a lightweight_ Marinette grabbed Adrien's shirt collar and pulled his face close to hers. "If you don't tell me what is going on right now, I'm going-"

"Oh look, we're here! We better get in there, don't want to be late!" Adrien practically screamed into her face, startling her enough for her to let go. He unbuckled her and dragged her out of the car. His hands wrapped firmly around her shoulders and he propelled her towards the building in front of them. He kept spouting nonsense until he shoved her through the door into a completely dark room. Before she could yell at him, light flooded the space. Blinking she turned back and gasped at the array of people and food before her. Alya, dead center under the banner, seemed to give some sort of signal and everyone screamed out "Joyeux anniversaire!"

She stumbled back into her husband, who wrapped his arms around her. "Surprise!" he whispered into her ear before the group surged forward to drag her into their celebrations.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Joyeux anniversaire- French- happy birthday


	14. Roller Coaster

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Marinette feels way too much.

To say that Marinette was less than pleased with her birthday celebration would be an understatement. She refused to talk to the current source of all her anger. He, in turn, seemed to know better than push it and floated around playing host. Alya on the other hand, didn't seem to get the memo. She was trying to pacify her, but Marinette didn't want to give her the time of day.

"Come on, girl! This is your day! And if you would have just let Juleka talk to you at practice you wouldn't be in such a pique right now." Marinette inspected the drink she was holding. Then she smiled at Rose who came up to wish her a happy birthday before Alya shooed her away. "Mari, babe, listen to me. Ok, so yes, you can be a little mad at me. I was plotting with him for this thing. I get it. Secrets don't make friends. Too bad you can't actually say that though since they kind of make up your life. But that's besides the point. I was going behind your back with your husband and lying to you about it. I get it. But if you don't get over this then you are going to waste this whole party by being angry."

Marinette turned away from her, sipping her drink and watching everyone dancing. Claire had come with two other people, neither of which Marinette knew. However, with how they were grinding on each other, she assumed they were the significant others. Bridgette and Felix weren't invited (thankfully), but a couple of the tech crew were milling around laughing at Kim's and Alix's high-jinks. They noticed Marinette watching them and waved her over. She started towards them, but Alya grabbed her and made some gesture at them. They shrugged and one of them suggested to Alix that she should make Kim carry her around all evening as retribution for forcing her to drink the nasty concoction he had mixed up for her.

"Girl!" Alya took her drink from her and handed it to Juleka as she passed by. Marinette smiled and called out to her, but Juleka just waved and booked it. Alya was glaring as she pulled Marinette's attention back to her. "Ok just stop. You are being petulant right now."

"Oh yeah, Alya? How about my best friend letting me think my husband was cheating on me. Huh? What about my best friend and husband OBVIOUSLY going behind my back for a few weeks now and not even owning up to doing anything. You brushed it off like I was crazy!" At this, Marinette broke free from the hold Alya had on her. She straightened her shirt and gave Alya a look. "I don't really feel like dealing with you tonight. Actually, it might take a few days. So fu-" Marinette turned around at this point and noticed that everyone was watching her. They all quickly pretended that nothing was going on, but the damage was done. Marinette just ground her teeth and stormed away.

Marinette hadn't noticed Adrien standing between Kim and Alix, trying to keep them from spilling blood. Nor did she see how his face fell at her first accusation. Instead, she let the bathroom door slam loudly behind her before locking herself in. She worked on calming herself down. Letting her mind drift, it didn't take long for it to focus again on The Hawk. She knew he was at L'Arc now. _Tomorrow, I'll go gather all of my other cameras and refocus them there. Eventually I'll know what his schedule is. Then I should be able to start following his other schedule. This is good. Tonight was good. It'll all be fine._

Nino was working on keeping up the energy when she finally emerged. Adrien and Alya were nowhere to be found. Telling herself that was a good thing, she went and found Claire and asked to be introduced to the significant others. Everyone was more than willing to pretend like everything was normal. She ended up have a pretty good rest of her evening. She took a cab back to the penthouse as she still hadn't seen tell of Adrien. Which was completely fine of course, she didn't want to ride with him anyway. She made sure to leave a note on their book that she was sleeping in her room until further notice and went to bed.

When she made her way to the kitchen in the morning, no aromas hit her. There wasn't any coffee, no fresh bakery goods, no porridge, no eggs. She frowned, wondering why she was so disappointed. She shrugged, deciding she'd just get coffee while she was out. Ladybug had business to do today. The next three days passed pretty much the same. She never saw Adrien once. She debated texting him. She was the one mad after all. He was probably just giving her her space. Right? She wasn't sleeping well any more though. The tired was starting to wear on her. Making up her mind, she sent off a _Hey, can we talk?_ text and started her last day of moving cameras to L'Arc.

~

Ladybug slipped into a cafe, pulling out her tablet to rename the last of the cameras. She told herself that this was very important, even though she only named them before to remember which bar or club they had been in. She also told herself that she wasn't just checking if Chat Noir had sent her anything. He still hadn't said anything about her run-in with The Hawk. Not that she was worried about him. He was probably just travelling or something. He did say it was his day job that made him leave the country often.

Her inner monologue was cut short when Marinette's phone started ringing. She started at it, before she remembered that she left it on in case Adrien finally got back to her. While an Agreste was in fact calling her, it was not the one she wanted. "Um, hello?"

"What is this I hear about Adrien going missing?" Gabriel droned into the phone.

"What do you mean he's gone missing? Since when? What is going on?" Panic was rising in the back of her throat. She was almost choking on it. _Is that why he hasn't been making coffee? Has he not been coming home?!!_

"Nathalie informs me that he has not been to work for three days now. He left no note as to anticipating being gone and is not answering his phone. What did you do?" Gabriel's anger was obvious, even though he sounded calm. She couldn't believe that he wasn't losing control though. It pissed her off that his only son going missing was just an inconvenience and a way to belittle her further.

"What did **I** do? Really? Back to hating my guts with a fiery passion I see. I haven't done anything. Our schedules are so opposite that I normally DON'T see much of him. I had texted him to find a time to get together. But I guess I need to go to the police now. I'm SO GLAD that someone reached out to me the first day he was gone to see if he was sick or something! As would be logical!" She started powering down all of Ladybug's electronics and stowing them

A muffled voice, probably Nathalie's, could be heard talking. "You'll be late-... Please.... to L'Arc." was all that Ladybug could decipher, but she froze. What could Gabriel need with ANYONE at L'Arc? Was he going to see The Hawk?

"Nathalie, call ahead and say I got held up, but I'll be with them shortly. This isn't over. You WILL be held responsible for my son's disappearance." There was a click, and then the typical beeping of an empty line. Ladybug was still frozen. _Them??? There's now way.... I have to check this out._ She powered her tablet back up, quickly checking all of the camera's. A back hallway showed a door open. The door was the same width as the hallway, which told her that it was right across from an entrance because she couldn't see a single detail of the person as they went through. Thinking through her mental map of the bar, she figured it could only be one place. The room itself was one that was always locked and she could tell it had a silent security system hooked up to it, so she hadn't attempted picking it yet. Cycling through all the other cameras, she couldn't see the person as they made their way through the back rooms of the bar. They seems to follow a path just out of her range. She could have sworn that her layout covered every possible path. This wouldn't do.

Ladybug silenced Marinette's phone and made her way to L'Arc. This probably wasn't her smartest plan, what with her unofficial partner MIA, but she couldn't wait around. What if Gabriel was meeting with Papillion? _Oh god, what if Gabriel IS Papillion and he and The Hawk are meeting someone to threaten them or make a new drug deal or something?_ She redoubled her efforts to get to L'Arc before Gabriel and his car arrived. She made it to a cafe across the street just in time to watch Gabriel motion to his driver/body guard to stay outside. She ordered a coffee and settled in to watch.

Though she checked her tablet, she caught no glimpse of anyone after Gabriel left the main area of the bar. She could tell that they went to that room though. Someone had been inside it because when they got there, the door opened so she couldn't even see so much as a shoe. She kept flipping through the cameras, watching all possible exits. Gabriel was there for 82 minutes. When he left, she could gleam nothing from his appearance. He seemed as distance and closed off as he always was. When he got outside, he turned back to the building and smoothed down his hair. Then he sighed and got into his car. As they drove off, Ladybug pulled up all the shots of the exits.

She spent the rest of the day watching the exits. She had to leave the cafe eventually, taking up residence in a restaurant until they closed and then finding a way up a building to sit on its roof. When three in the morning rolled around, and she watched the last staff member lock up and go home, she gave up. The only people to go through any of the back doors were the staff who came to run the place. She had gone back to look at footage of that doorway, but it only ever opened when Gabriel left, and she couldn't find hints of any movement but his through the building at that time. Frustrated, she finally called it a night.

Marinette was carefully creeping through the living room when she remembered Adrien. She bit her lip thinking for a moment before deciding to go check his room. She kept quiet, but that proved pointless when she got into his room and it was empty. Then she noticed that her note was still where she left it. It hadn't even been unfolded. _Did he... not even come home after the party? God this is my fault._

She checked his room, searching his bathroom, under the bed, and his closet, trying to find signs that he intentionally left. All she found was a pretty present in his closet addressed to her. _I am SUCH an idiot!_ she screamed in her mind as tears welled up. This really was all her fault.

She raced back outside, going to the party venue. Upon arrival, she banged her head on the doors because it was four in the fucking morning. Of course they were closed. She pulled out her cell phone and tried calling Adrien. No answer. She tore throughout the city. They didn't really have any "spots," so she wasn't sure where to look. She tried parks, she checked hotels (she started with Chloe's), she examined every place he had ever taken her too. She had been everywhere by noon with no luck. She had even checked the party venue again. Of course, he wasn't there.

As she sat on a park bench, face in her hands, exhaustion overtaking her, she thought to call Alya. She whipped out her phone and dialed the journalist's number. Nothing. She sent a slew of texts, then called her again. Still nothing. She called Nino. He could realistically be sleeping considering his job. She decided to go to their apartment. No matter how much she buzzed, no answer. Which wasn't saying much. Nino could sleep through an earthquake according to Alya. Frantic she decided to go to Gabriel and see if he'd heard anything.

They wouldn't let her past the front desk. He wouldn't even send Nathalie down to talk to her. When she tried calling him, he denied her call instantly every single time.

She went back outside, sinking onto the curb and started bawling. She wished she could call her mom. Sabine would know how to help her. Her fingers hovered over her screen as she contemplated calling her father. At best he would comfort her. At worst, he wouldn't answer her either. He was seven hours ahead of her, so he could be cleaning up the shop still. Or they could be having family supper. At the wedding, her father had mentioned that Sabine's family had made a point of eating all evening meals with him now. At the time, she had been happy to know her father wasn't lonely. Now though, it meant that he wouldn't be answering the phone, because 姥姥 was really strict and refused to let anyone leave the table for any reason once the meal had started until everyone was finished eating.

Not wanting to face the possible (though unintentional) rejection, she picked herself up and made her way home. She didn't take a taxi this time though, not wanting to deal with another human being right now. And the long walk would beat her suffering into her more. She more than deserved it for what she had done. She didn't make it back to the penthouse until late that evening. She stared up at the building. She didn't even deserve to sleep there. Instead, she crumbled onto the curb.

Marinette had been moping for an undetermined amount of time when a voice came from behind her. "Girl, what are you doing?"

Marinette gasped and spun around, which caused her to start falling over. Alya quickly grabbed her flailing arm, and the two of them stared at each other for a moment. Her brain finally caught up and Marinette jumped up and started jabbing Alya in the chest. "What the HELL is going on! Why haven't you been answering my calls? Where were you all day?"

"Calls? Oh shit, I haven't turned my phone back on have I." Alya dug around in her purse until she pulled out her cell, then powered it on. Marinette just stared at her, her jaw hanging, as Alya waited for the phone to boot up. "Mon Dieu! 47 missed calls? Did Nino get hospitalized or something?" she questioned with a laugh.

Marinette snapped her mouth just and shifted into a glare. "Did Nino get hospitalized? And you joke about it? Don't you even care about him?"

"Huh? Wait, did something happen to him? Why didn't he call me?" Marinette shoved her before she could get hysterical.

"NO NOTHING HAPPENED TO HIM! BUT THAT'S NO REASON FOR YOU TO ACT NONCHALANT ABOUT HIM!!!" Marinette screamed. Before a shell shocked Alya could say anything, Marinette started in on a rant. "In fact, Nino never got back to me either. No I called you 47 times and texted you, er, however many times because Adrien is missing! You were the last one to see him and I wanted to know if you had any idea of where he went? Oh god, Alya, I know I screwed up big time, but he just left, without a note or anything! And he didn't call the office and say anything, not that they chose to say anything to me until yesterday when Gabriel called me to chew me out, but like, I don't know what to do! I looked all over town and it's not like we have any 'special places' and I just-"

It was Alya's turn to slap Marinette. "Girl! Ok, first off, I'm really sorry. I didn't think anyone would notice, so I told Adrien to just go. Second, it was all his idea, I just facilitated details. Thirdly, he's upstairs right now and would love to talk to you. Lastly, you can yell at me some more later, I honestly didn't think Gabe would even notice if he son decided to take a couple days off. Just, go on up there and make up with your man." Alya winked and smacked her butt as she pushed Marinette towards the building.

Marinette frowned, but didn't really hesitate as she ran to the elevator. _He's ok!_ She crashed through the front door, right into Adrien. She looked up at him slack jawed before burying her face into his chest and wailing for forgiveness.

"Mari, Mari! It's ok! I'm so sorry for worrying you. Please, let's sit down and talk." Adrien shot her a one hundred watt smile and pulled her over to the couch to talk.

Marinette couldn't believe her luck. She vowed to not let things get that bad ever again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 姥姥 - maternal grandmother


	15. Feelings Jam

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which they work some things out.
> 
> This wasn't how I intended this chapter to go at all, especially wasn't how I meant to end it, but it felt right so I hope you enjoy.

Turns out that Adrien and Alya had flown to 陕西 (Shaanxi) province to talk to Tom about what Adrien did wrong and how to prevent (and correct) the situation. Adrien didn't understand how he had ingrained into his wife that he was cheating on her. Even after Alya explained about him not being home one night and how Marinette was suspicious by nature. So they went to a better informant. Tom's advice was to not make any surprises bigger than a box that a kitchen blender could fit in. Sabine was just the same as Marinette, she would become outrageously suspicious if he tried to plan something for her. He had learned that even trying to surprise her with new furniture put him in the hot house. However, he said, Marinette was easier to appease. His darling daughter loved honesty above all else, so as long as Adrien came clean right away, promised not to do it again, and maybe spoiled her rotten for a day, he'd be good. For Tom, he would just make her favorite sweet, which he sent Adrien back with a box of of course.

Armed with this knowledge, they arrived back late afternoon, and Adrien tasked Alya with heading to the grocery store so he could cook a magnificent dinner. He also made sure to clean the whole house up. Alya was then sent back out to get some of Marinette's favorite wine. Then one more time, Alya tasked with finding the most feminist, save-the-world, power book she could find. Alya was leaving for home so late because she finally convinced Adrien that she needed to check on Nino. Having not even told him where they were going, she was worried that he might have lapsed into a bad habit of his of doing nothing but work on his 'tunes' until he passed out. Rinse, repeat.

That was when Alya found Marinette crumpled up on the curb. And when she realized that neither of them bothered to turn on their phones, too busy making everything up to Adrien's perfectionism standards. Sheepish, she forced Marinette upstairs before rushing home to take care of her boy who had in fact lapsed and never noted her absence.

After he got her up to speed, Adrien sent her to the tub, bringing her her dinner once she was submerged in the bubbles. Leaning against the tub, he stayed in the bathroom so he could get her refills of food or wine. Also, for continued chatting. Marinette insisted that he didn't have to do more than this tonight to make it up to her since it was her fault too and he didn't even do anything wrong. Even if she did love his pampering. He in turn, insisted on spending tomorrow with her because he felt guilty for making her think he was cheating. He ended up winning because he tempted her with the birthday present he had yet to gift her.

They finished their night with their normal motions; Adrien reading from their book of choice until Marinette drifted off. He offered to continue what they had been reading (which had been a book of his choice) or to start the new book he had Alya pick out. She went with their current book, because she knew he loved the story and really wanted to share it with her. She still felt extremely guilty and wanted to make it up to him, even if he didn't see it that way.

Overall, Marinette was very pleased that it was all a huge misunderstanding and that both of them wanted to fix it. She didn't know what she would do if Adrien truly didn't want to be married to her anymore. She wasn't sure that she was going to want to ever leave him. She wasn't fully committed to the idea yet, but her emotional side was trying to convince the rational that she could be a spy in France just as easy as she could be one in 陕西. She could be a permanent remote agent. Besides, didn't Adrien travel a lot? That would definitely get her VISAs as needed to visit other countries.

Her biggest hurdle though, was Chat Noir. What would she do about her love for him? It was even harder after he had helped save her life that night. She was absolutely obsessed with him. He was so funny and witty and charming. But then again, Adrien spoiled her rotten, the small amounts of time they were able to spend together. He felt more distant though. Like no matter how much he wanted to, he just couldn't reach her. Would Chat be as caring as Adrien was in real life though? It was easy to put on a persona when the other person couldn't know more than the sound of your voice. Which he could easily have a device to alter that. Besides, how many partners had she met over the years who turned out to be using her? Granted Chat'd been helping her for years and at most has begged her to meet him "so she could fall in love with him." Like she needed to meet him for that to happen.

Marinette's dilemma didn't drift away with the night when the sun rose. Instead she was faced with an ecstatic husband intent on making her day. He had called his father's secretary and told her off for insulting his wife like that, then said he wouldn't be going to work until further notice. Next he fed her a homemade breakfast in bed while he read the ending of their novel. Marinette had to then talk him out of going shopping instead pressing that she was really curious about that present he promised her that she may or may not have noticed in the closet while looking for clues into where he went.

Adrien caved on no shopping, but insisted that the present was for the end of the day so she couldn't open it yet. Instead, they got dressed and went to a nearby park. They spent their morning sunning themselves and just talking about whatever came to mind. Marinette couldn't believe how many puns came from that man's mouth. He was as bad as Chat in that aspect. Marinette also brought up that, though she was willing to forgive him since he was following Alya's advice, Alya needed to be punished. She should have known better than to just disappear without a trace. She explained to him how panicked she had been running around Paris trying to find him. He promised to never do that again and he would, by all means, help her get back at Alya.

After lunch at a little bistro, they went to the Louvre and spent their afternoon there. Having never spent time there as an admirer, Marinette was fascinated by all the works she never paid much attention to before. Adrien mostly just trailed after her and answered any questions she posed. She was surprised how fun it was to be a tourist and simply be somewhere to enjoy it.

They were on their way home, so Marinette could cook for him for once, when Marinette received a phone call. "Marinette, where are you?" the familiar voice of her director asked all sweetly.

"What? Where am I? But... oh 我靠! It's Thursday, isn't it? I'll be right there. I'm, I'm so sorry." Marinette hung up and turned to Adrien. "I'm sorry, but I need to be at practice. I guess I've been frazzled and forgot about it this morning."

Adrien started to pout before an idea came to him. "Do... you think I could sit in on it? I know Bridgette doesn't let people do that, but maybe I could bribe her? She seemed obsessed with cognac last time I met her," Adrien asked, tightening his hold on her as he redirected them towards the practice hall.

"She might be easily swayed, but Felix not so much. He'll be more likely to kick you out."

"Hmm... How to sway Felix Bernard.... How does he respond to money? I could ask if I can buy my tickets for all the performances and see if that doesn't sway him a little."

"Adrien, I don't think buying 20 tickets is going to be good enough to sway him."

Adrien winked at her but said no more on the subject. They arrived at the hall and predictably, Felix demanded Adrien leave immediately. He was able to sidetrack him though, as he was right, Felix could be swayed with money. Marinette just rolled her eyes as she got into the harness so she could get into her bottle. As they hoisted her into the air, she heard Felix start to curse. She made the mistake of trying to whip around and look at her husband. As she started twisting (which she was expressly DEMANDED not to do), she could see apparent confusion on his face. When she was facing him again, she could tell that it was a mask. He was loving this as Felix continued to cuss and demanded a calculator. She slowly started untwisting, as the tech running the fly were cussing HER out. She did her best to help them straighten it and didn't try to look at Adrien again until she was unhooked. He was sitting off to the side and Felix was no where to be seen. Bridgette had a cup in her hands and a grin on her lips. Marinette guessed it was cognac, though if it was from her own stash or came directly from Adrien, she wouldn't know until she was back out of the bottle.

They had already done with the first scene before Felix returned and after talking to Adrien, he took over following along in the script so Bridgette could go back to focusing on her vision for the production. Adrien was apparently not asked to leave as he didn't even shift in his seat. Not that Marinette could really hear anything. It was a struggle to hear Bridgette yelling instructions. They actually had to mic her already so that they could make sure that the 'glass' bottle didn't distort the sound any. And because her yelling out her lines was ruining the effect Bridgette wanted. So, Marinette let her awareness go and went back to being Madeleine.

They had finished and Marinette was finally let out. She ran over to Adrien to do the cutesy so-how-was-I? thing that couples often did. Though his look of excitement and the way he gushed made her insides all tingly. Before she could try to ask about the tickets, a familiar voice called out. "Hey Marinette! Ah I'm so glad we came at the right time!" Turning, Marinette found Nathanaël walking up. Grinning widely she spun to hug him.

"Nathanaël! What are you doing here?!" Then the 'we' registered. "Mon dieu! Is Théo with you!" She started to look around until, there, talking to Bridgette, she found the only man around that could only be him. He blood ran cold as The Hawk looked up and met her eyes. The grin was still plastered on her face, mostly because she was frozen. _You were expecting this. Manager at L'Arc, running into The Hawk at L'Arc, it was too good to be a coincidence. **Shape up and deal!**_

"Oh, hey Théo!" Adrien called out, giving him a wave. Turning back, he asked, "Are you building something more for Bridgette for the play, Nathanaël?" He was all sorts of calm and not freaking out. _Of course he's all calm. He isn't a super secret spy bent on saving the world from one of the biggest threats we've ever had to deal with!_ Adrien wrapped an arm around Marinette, effectivly breaking her frozen freak out. He rubbed her arm as he and Nathanaël discussed the set piece he was making now. Marinette slowly brought herself back as Théo/The Hawk slowly came over with Bridgette.

"Nathanaël, precious, I'm so happy that you are my lead artist! Even though you said you didn't want to be!" Bridgette winked at him. Then she grabbed his arm and started pulling him towards the stage. "Come, come, come! I need your vision!" Nathanaël laughed, but shot a pleading look at his boyfriend. Théo just smirked and held his hands up. Adrien gave a hearty chuckle at the exchange and spurred Marinette into a giggle.

"So, we finally get to meet, Mme. Agreste." Théo held out his hand which Marinette quickly grasped and shook. He turned to Adrien and they both shook hands as he said, "You know, Nath just goes on and on about you. If I didn't know how much he loved me, I might feel jealous." They all laughed at that. Marinette felt like she finally regained her control and could act 'normal' around him.

"You know, I kept thinking Nathanaël and Adrien were playing a big joke on me and you weren't real," Marinette teased.

"It's not my fault that I am busy and you like to get day drunk while working," Théo responded with a shrug.

"Hey! That was one time!" she stammered. "And besides I was promised a photo of you in our own home and never got to see it." She leaned into Adrien as she shot him a look.

Adrien turned red and pulled at his collar. "Hey, shouldn't we be getting out of here? Looks like those two are done discussing whatever and the tech crew probably wants to leave," Adrien deflected, physically turning Marinette to face Bridgette and Nathanaël as the two came towards them. Marinette just rolled her eyes and grabbed onto Nathanaël when he was close enough. She tugged him along behind her towards the exit.

"Come one, I need some ideas from you," she said over her shoulder.

"Ideas for what?" Nathanaël asked, sending yet another pleading look at his boyfriend. Théo just laughed. Adrien shook his head. They were all four outside the practice hall when Marinette spun around to answer.

"Why, revenge of course!" She shot them a a sugary sweet smile and turned towards the closest bar.

"Revenge on who?" Théo wondered allowed, as he offered Nathanaël his arm. Adrien had been hurrying to catch up to his wife, but stopped and groaned. "Gasp! Did you do something wrong Adrien? Oh Nathanaël! Our precious celebrity crush is a cruel man to the woman he loves! How can we worship him now?"

Nathanaël and Marinette burst out in laughter simultaneously. Adrien shook his head, then quickly wrapped his jacket around his wife. "You are talking about revenge on your best friend who gave your POOR husband terrible advice, right?"

Marinette pulled the jacket close and inhaled deeply. When she realized what she was doing, she quickly continued walking down the street. "But of course! I need to get back at one renowned journalist who has it in her head that she doesn't need to tell me just OH so many things! Like surprise parties and trips she takes my husband on out of the country."

"Ooo!" Nathanaël giggled. "This sounds like it will be fun. I assume it can be massive and over the top?" Marinette shot him a wicked grin as her answer.

"But Mari, babe. Didn't you want to open your birthday present tonight? I'm afraid if we go out, you'll get wasted and I'll have to carry you home. Then you'll just have to wait until we hang out again to open it."Adrien shot her a pleading smile and she slowed to a stop. She pouted for a minute then sighed and leaned into him. She mumbled her consent to go home into his chest.

"You haven't given her her birthday present yet? Tsk, tsk! Even more reasons to lower your pedestal," Théo commented.

"Wasn't your birthday last week?" Nathanaël asked.

Marinette leaned back, holding onto Adrien's arms to keep balanced. "When we gossip I'll catch you up as to why my love seems so incompetent when he really isn't. But who know's when he'll be free next. So we'll have to plot later." Both men nodded and Marinette stood up properly so she could let go of Adrien and give them proper goodbyes. "It was wonderful to finally meet you, Théo. You seem to be just the right amount of sassy. I hope we have a chance to get to know each other better next time."

_Whether I'm me or Ladybug, I fully intend to know you better._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 陕西- Shaanxi- A province in central China that I've chosen to use for various reasons as where the Cheng family originates. Capital is 西安 Xi'an  
> 我靠 wǒ kào - bosh! crap!


	16. Opening Night

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ladybug plays a little and then Marinette stumbles through opening night.

Marinette was sunning herself in the middle of a field. Adrien was lying beside her, their fingers interlaced as he hummed a song from her childhood. It was pure bliss. However, the wind shifted and Marinette sat up as the sky darkened. She turned to Adrien, but he was gone. She jumped up to find him when the light shifted. She looked up and realized that it wasn't storm clouds but birds blocking out the sun. She started running. The birds came together and started to arrow after her more like a swarm of bees. She tripped and went flying. Chat Noir, in his biker gear caught her and hauled her onto his motorcycle. He tore off through the city, the nameless henchmen hot on their heels.

"Mari, wake up."

She whimpered and held Chat tighter. Arms were trying to pull her away from him and she struggled.

"Seriously, babe, you need to stop doing this. Wake up."

The world started to shake. She was finally torn away from Chat and started falling. She gasped and opened her eyes to see her husband staring down at her with a frown on his face. She blushed and let go of his pajama shirt.

"We really need to discus how to wake you up when you are stuck in one of those dreams. Because I really like being able to get up to go to the bathroom. And, you know, breathing." She blushed harder and stammered out an apology as he rushed to relieve himself. Unable to drop it she followed and talked to him through the door.

"Really, I'm so sorry Adrien. Usually there's like, a reason I dream these things. But I don't even know this time."

"Well, could it be jitters over opening night tonight?" he asked.

She rested her head against the door. She didn't really think that was it. She was actually pretty excited to get through the whole piece without Bridgette being able to glare at her. Besides, wouldn't she have been on stage then? "Maybe. I just, you'd think I wouldn't be with how well I know my part," she murmured as she played with the doorknob.

"Coming out," Adrien called and Marinette stepped back. He tugged her with him back to bed and snuggled back under the covers. "Aren't nerves before a production good? That shows that you're excited and want to do your best."

She chewed on her bottom lip a moment before groaning and pushing her face into his chest. Adrien chuckled and patted her head. They were quiet for a moment. Marinette reveled in the peace that emanated off of her husband. She wondered how much better she'd feel if she just kissed him. She had stopped arguing with herself pretending she didn't want him like that. While she still wasn't willing to just accept this as the foundation for the rest of her life, she was pretty sure she wouldn't be leaving anytime soon, regardless of what happened with Papillion. What could it hurt to ease some of her sexual frustrations?

**_Adrien_ **

Right, there was that. She refused to give in if she was going to flake on him to run of with Chat Noir or something equally stupid. She refused to hurt such a precious ray of sunshine. Which meant that she was already pushing the line as it was, she didn't need to add kissing to it.

"You should probably be getting to final dress," Adrien said in a calm, soothing voice. She hummed, but didn't remove her face. Instead she wrapped her arms tighter around him, trying to absorb every last piece of tranquility from him that she could. Her gut started twisting and she started to worry that something was going to go down today.

 _Bad dreams don't mean anything. Just move on already. **But, then again, you've never dreamed about Chat before.**_ She didn't want to think about that. She finally pushed herself up and made her way to her bathroom to shower and get her things. She had told Adrien she'd be busy all day long, and he took that to mean final dress was early today. She let him assume that, though in reality she was heading out for some LB action before heading to the theatre.

Learning that Théo and The Hawk were one in the same didn't actually get her any where. He still seemed to avoid all her cameras and attempts Nathanaël made for them to hang out always fell through. They had set up a night with drinks at L'Arc to plot her revenge on Alya because he had to work as manager that night, and Marinette never saw him once. She highly doubted he'd be at tonight's performance either. She was figuring out what kind of schedule those special shipments might be on though. And if she was right, there'd be one today. If she timed it right, she could catch and interview the truck driver about the delivery.

After making her way to a random store and changing out her appearance, Ladybug turned on her cell and connected the video system from her sun glasses to it. She planned on recording everything that went down. She made her way to L'Arc, perching on the building behind the bar this time. Chat messaged her about 20 minutes into her stake out.

_Why, my lady. Why are you trying to take this cat out of his element?(⌯˃̶᷄ ﹏ ˂̶᷄ ⌯)ﾟ_

_**What are you even talking about, Chat?** _

_Cats are creatures of the night my lady. I'm supposed to be napping during the day. (∪｡∪)｡｡｡zzz_

_**Sorry cat, but this bug is busy tonight. And based on patterns I have a feeling there's a meeting today.** _

_｢(ﾟﾍﾟ)_

_What patterns are you talking about? How did I miss this?_

_**It started when you were gone a while ago. One Gabriel Agreste made his way to L'Arc for a "meeting" and since then, I've noticed his schedule syncing up with when special meetings are held in that locked back room. I don't have any more evidence to connect him to Papillion, but today I'm going to try listening in.** _

_What? You mean the fashion mogul? You think he's connected with Paris's crime lord?_

_**What no emoji for that? And like I said, I saw him have a meeting once and I know it had something to do with Papillion. Why else would Gabriel Agreste go to a random bar in the middle of the day? I just need stronger evidence to connect him to everything so I can interrogate him.** _

_You said this happened when I was gone?_

Ladybug frowned. Why was he making her repeat herself? Why was he not acting like himself?? _**Yeah, I tried contacting you, but you didn't answer. Hey you wanna come over and play back-up? I'm going to get down there so I can listen in.**_

Her phone started ringing. Ladybug frowned as she started at the black cat she used to indicate her partner. Hesitantly she swiped to answer the call. "LB, you can't go in there. Not today, please. My wife has a thing tonight that I cannot miss. Let's plan on doing this next time, and we can both go in. Or I can play back-up on the roof or whatever. But please, give me time to research what you said about Gabriel and to plan-"

"Your wife?" she said dumbly. Her blood ran cold and her mind hit repeat. _HIS WIFE???_ "Wait, you weren't joking about being married?"

"What? No I wasn't joking. Why would I joke about that?" his voice was full of confusion. He didn't understand. Well neither did she.

"Why the hell do you flirt with me like you do if you're married?!?" she bit into the receiver.

"Because, that's how we've always talked? And you flirt back. What, were you lying when you said you were married?"

"I'm only married so I can be in Paris and catch Papillion! Otherwise I wouldn't even be here!"

"What?" It was his turn to shut down. She could feel it through the phone. He hesitated before saying "So what, are you going to leave him once you're done here?"

Ladybug bit her lip. She didn't want to leave Adrien. But Chat, Chat Noir was MARRIED in his civilian life. He wasn't an option for her anymore. She felt tears well up. "I guess I don't have a reason to anymore," she whispered. Frowning, she pulled the phone away and hung up on whatever he was trying to say. She shot him a text that she was doing this with or without him, turned it off, and made her way to the delivery door of L'Arc.

Slipping in the back door, she found the hallways empty. As she expected. She crept along until she found a wall of the locked room. She tried the classic ear-pressed-to-a-glass-pressed-to-the-wall trick just in case. Hearing nothing, Ladybug continued along until she made it to the door. Before she could do anything though, it opened. She scurried back, but being caught off guard she fell on her ass. The door closed to reveal The Hawk standing before her. He was disguised, contacts in to change his sclera and iris to a muddy orange. It had to be a wig to make his hair look like feathers like that. A mask over his mouth (which had a voice changer in it) with a beak painted on it. He did have a suit on though, instead of the costume he normally wore. He frowned down at her and said "Well, well, well, what do we have here? Are they training a new bug to come after us? What would you be? The gnat? The grasshopper maybe? How about the new bee?" He laughed and she tried to scoot away from him. She ran into something and looked up to find the goon who had chased her last time. "You won't get away so easily this time. They shouldn't have sent someone so green after us. Not that it will help you, but you shouldn't have put up so many cameras." He made a gesture to dump her and went back into the room.

As the door shut and the woman, she could tell now being tossed over her shoulder, started to take her away. Ladybug grabbed a smoke canister and pulled the pin. She grabbed the woman's hood and yanked her head back, shoving the billowing smoke into her face. Swearing, the woman dropped her and started coughing. As Ladybug ran, she heard the telltale sounds of an inhaler. A cold pit formed in her stomach as she kept going. She wouldn't be seeing that henchman ever again.

After she was safely away, she turned on her phone, expecting Chat Noir to have sent her text messages cussing her out and calling her an idiot for that stunt. There was nothing. Not even a missed call. She shook her head. _This is a good thing! He's actually fucking married so maybe it's time to stop being unofficial partners._ She found a place to change back and made her way to the theatre.

Their last official rehearsal was soured as Bridgette slowly got drunker and angrier at their performance. Marinette was ready to say fuck it, but since she was stuck in a fake, giant, glass bottle, she couldn't very well storm off the stage. The make-up was killing her. Everything needed to be extra on her to be seen through the glass. Extra bright, extra thick, extra powdered. If she wasn't in the skimpiest costume, she was sure she would have a heat-stroke. They were going to have to pull her out before the performance to re-apply since she was sweating so much. Juleka, on the other hand, had almost an entire bolt of fabric draped around her body and held on with chains. She had a plastic skin put over her face that was then made up to look like marble (so she could remove it later of course). But she had never got the hang of properly and quickly removing all it, and couldn't practice now as they were too close to the performance. Claire kept getting splinters from the house pieces and they had to stop once again to remove it. Marinette tripped over one of the wine bottles every run through because she was supposed to keep moving them but keep them scattered around her. Juleka got too tired the longer they rehearsed since Bridgette refused to use fake chains for any of her costume. The list was never ending as to how they messed up and pissed Bridgette off. Even all of the stage hands were fed up.

Someone said they had to stop because house would be opening soon and they needed to get Marinette out, her make-up reapplied, and back into the bottle before that happened. At that call, Juleka slumped until she was lying on the floor. Claire still wasn't back from the splinter removal. Bridgette said fuck it and walked away. Felix groaned and went after her. Once she was gone, everything moved so fast. It felt like no time at all before the three of them were posed on stage as the seats started to fill. Marinette was the only one who could get away with peeking at the audience as they found their spots.

She was shocked to realize that Adrien wasn't in the first rush of people. Slowly the seats filled, but the front row remained empty. Finally she saw Nino make his way to just off center in the front row. A while later Alya came. Felix came over the announcement system to say ten minutes until curtain and remind everyone to turn off their electronic devices. Still no Adrien. The lights went out. The pit in her stomach grew and she suddenly felt like she was going to throw up. Juleka's spotlight came up first, then Claire's, then Marinette's as they all said their first lines. When they go to sing the first song, the lights change to light the whole stage and Marinette can see Adrien's hair seemingly glowing in his seat. Her nerves ease and she falls into the performance.

The curtains fell. Their performance had been ok. Marinette tripped once, but made it look like a drunken stumble. Claire never got a splinter, but did almost wack herself with one of the house pieces. When Juleka shed her stone imprisonment, she practically threw the chain off and almost smacked it into Marinette's bottle. They had all been warned to not do anything to the bottle, because they didn't have the budget to replace it. Juleka had cringed, but played off like she was expecting God to smite her before moving onto her next line. The fly crew came to get her out and Marinette almost kissed all of them. She had to hurry though to join the other two in the lobby. Adrien did not come up to congratulate her. He was holding a bouquet though. When the crowds finally left, he came over and gave it to her. She realized as Nino hugged her that all three of them had held back from her, as Rose had from Juleka, and Rich and Lu Lu from Claire. She was still really nervous that something was wrong, because he had his model smile on. But she didn't say anything as they went to change then all left together for drinks. Bridgette and Felix had met them at the bar and congratulated them on a fine performance. Bridgette finally got her chance to interrogate Alya on all sorts of different topics, including what she thought of tonight's performance. Adrien hadn't said anything to her the whole time out.

Marinette held onto Adrien as they waved good bye to everyone. She continued hanging off of him, blaming her buzzed state of course, then snuggled up to him in the car for the ride home. Once they were settled into bed (no reading since is was so late), Marinette turned to him. "Hey, Adrien. Is something wrong?"

"Hmm? Why do you ask?" He didn't look at her, instead turning to turn off the light.

"It's just, you've had your model smile on all evening. I just wanted to make sure you were ok," she mumbled, tugging on her hair.

"Can we talk about it in the morning? I'm really, really tired," he answered, settling into his normal sleep position.

"Oh, of-of course! I hope you sleep well," she whispered, slipping down to lie beside him.

"You too, Mari."


	17. Showdown

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ok, I feel horrible for saying I was getting back into the writing groove and then disappearing for forever. However, after completing this chapter, I can't leave you hanging. Also, I'm going to do what I didn't want to do and write the next one from Adrien's perspective because I don't know that I'll get the chance to do this properly otherwise. (By that I mean I have so many ideas on how this should be going and none of them are happening. As I write they keep telling me to look this way and then my opportunity is gone as they advance the plot past where I was going.)
> 
> I hope you enjoy this.

Adrien was gone when she woke up in the morning. Coffee was made but no note saying where he was. She got a text from him mid-day saying something came up for work and he wouldn't be at tonight's performance. He talked it out with Alya and Nino, and Nino bowed out so Nathanaël and Théo could join her tonight. He probably wouldn't be back until the next night's performance, unless something held him up. She sent him back a best wishes text, but he didn't respond. She decided to go out as Ladybug to talk to her partner, having gotten over her anger at the situation with a night's rest, but he didn't respond to anything she sent him either.

After a week, Marinette was at her whit's end. While she understood that Chat was upset about her assumptions about his wife, she couldn't fathom why he would stop talking to her. Nor could she understand why Adrien was suddenly acting so weird. She knew his birthday wasn't coming up, but she wondered if maybe the anniversary of his mother's death was. She knew it was a touchy topic, it was for her anyway. She wondered if Nino or Alya would know. She did not want to have to ask Nathalie. She decided to have Nino come over for the video games and see what she could get out of him.

"So bro, what's up?"

"Is Adrien mad at me?" Marinette asked, not looking at him as she hit start on the controller.

Nino immediately paused the game. "Whoa, whoa, whoa! Why would you even think Ponyboy is mad? Like, I'm pretty sure he doesn't have that emotion in him. Dejected pain, yes, but not anger."

She sighed, thinking for a moment. She hit start again and started talking. "He hasn't been talking to me, and it kind of feels like he's avoiding me. I don't even know if he's been coming home. I mean, the coffee pot is full every morning, but for all I know, he paid the cleaner to come and do that or something."

"Mari, bro, gaming and serious talk is totally cheating. You're kicking my ass." That got a chuckle out of her, and then Nino's character died. He set his controller aside. "Look, I haven't gotten two words out of him either, but I was putting it to the fact that his dad's birthday is in two weeks. I don't know why he's so weird about it. I think maybe he's reminded of this stone, cold giant in his life that doesn't really seem to love him? Dunno. I figured with his embodiment of heaven at his side, he'd ignore it for once." Nino shrugged and Marinette tugged at her hair as she turned back to the screen in thought.

After a time she said, "You really don't think it's me? Like, I know we can't spend much time together right now because of performances. And his work schedule is always insane. And I'm pretty sure his father comes up with things for him to do simply so we can't spend time together. But, I don't know. Back when we first got married, he left me little messages all over the place to let me know he was thinking of me. Even if he couldn't tell me that through out the day. I haven't gotten a single answer to anything I've sent him in the last week though."

"Do you always just text him?"

"I've sent him a couple emails. The last two days I started leaving sticky notes like he did for me. Still nothing though." She bit her lip and looked at Nino again. Pleading for him to help her fix this.

"Dude, bro, I gotta think this one through. Let's have you kick my ass some more at this game while I think." Marinette laughed again and picked her controller back up. They made it through several matches before Nino groaned and tossed his controller back on the table. "Ok, that's enough ass kicking. You know, Adrien lets me win some times."

She stuck her tongue out at him. "Where's the fun in cheating? If you win, it should be fair and square so you know how much you've improved!" He groaned again and held his hands up in surrender. She set her own controller down and turned fully towards him.

He turned towards her too and took off his cap. Her eyes widened and she sat attention to hear what he had to say.

"Ok, so I have NO idea what could be making my best bro act like this. And he's not really one for comfort in the way of presents. I mean, dude loves his croissants, but he's more into physical and emotional comforts. So all I can think, is you two need to sit down and talk. Dude bottles everything up unless you dig. And if he's not talking to anyone, then we may need to get Alya's help and kidnap him."

Marinette frowned, tilting her head to the side. "How is Alya supposed to help with that?"

"She knows people."

Marinette scrunched up her face some more until she realized that Ladybug was probably the people she knew. Trying to not let that epiphany fly across her features, she shrugged and nodded. "Ok, so we kidnap my husband. Then I sit down and have a heart to heart with him?"

"Heart to heart, sloppy make-outs, tender make-up sex. Then I think you'll be good." Nino grinned wiggling his eyebrows then winking at her.

She rolled her eyes and pushed him away from her.

Nino guffawed while Marinette made her way to the kitchen. She flicked on the coffee pot, the only appliance in that room that she trusted herself not to break. "Want a cup before I kick you out?" she called to him as she pulled down her mug from the cupboard.

"Nah, I'll get going so you have plenty of mental prep time before you have to deal with that dragon of a director." Nino turned off the game console and television and put the controllers away. He came to the kitchen and gave her a side hug. "I'll have Alya get her people on with the secret mission. Once they have a drop figured out, someone will text you."

"Sounds good. Thanks again, Nino." He waved as he made his way out of the penthouse. Marinette fiddled with her cup as the coffee percolated. She would have to reach out to Chat Noir and see if he'd answer her. First and foremost, she needed to make up with him. Then, she'd enlist his help in finding her husband. Of course, she was screwed if he still refused to talk to her. It's not like she could find the cat if he wanted to remain hidden. She sighed, tears forming as she stared through the coffee pot. She didn't know what she was going to do if she still couldn't reach him. It's not like he was any other contact she had ever worked with in the past. Her mother had always taught her to have two ins on a cohort. However, she kept Chat Noir hidden from everyone. So she didn't have anyone else to reach out to him for her. She wasn't as tech savvy as she presented herself to be to Alya. She didn't have her own trace on him. While she could tell that he had been active in their Cloud as of late, she wasn't sure what he was doing as no new videos were uploaded. Nothing had been clipped together.

The coffee finally finished and Marinette picked up the pot. After a moment's hesitation, she put it back and switched her cup out for a thermos. She filled that to the brim, collected her prepped spy bag, and headed out the door. She changed further away than usual, then made her way to the roof of the cafe across from L'Arc. She pulled out her cell. After taking a deep breathe and making a small prayer, she turned it on and pulled up the Cloud to see when Chat was last on. She gasped. He was on right at that moment. Shaky fingers pulled up his contact, but before she could decide if she should call or text, his icon popped up as an incoming call. Her heart raced as she hit accept. "Chat Noir! 天 哪 ! I need to apologize to you. I'm not entirely sure I understand everything, but I know you've been upset and I just really need to make it up to you. So please don't hang up on me and hear me out. Or! Or we could meet up! I will do what ever it takes to make it up to you. I'm just so, so sorry! Please!" she babbled into the receiver. She paused, panting to regain her breath.

"Wow, uh, I-I'm sorry, LB. I should have responded to you. I wasn't that upset with you. I was more caught off guard by the Gabriel Agreste thing. I've been researching that for the past couple days. And before you anything else, I have confirmed that he is NOT directly connected to Papillion."

Her mind swirled as she stared blankly ahead. "He-he's, what? Why did you, I mean, how did you even-"

"Look, there's a lot to go over and I think we are definitely long over due for a meet up. Why don't we talk about all of this over lunch? My treat?" She could hear the eye brow wiggle and the grin forming at the end of his sentence, but her focus had shifted. Because Gabriel Agreste had pulled up to L'Arc. And The Hawk, in his full, formal get-up was greeting him at the door.

"Chat, The Hawk is taking Gabriel Agreste into L'Arc. If you say he's not directly involved, I'll believe you, but I NEED to find out what is going on. I'm so sorry, but I'm going in." She paused, not wanting to cut him off again.

A sigh. "Ok. Go in, but be super careful. I'll be there in 20 for back-up."

"I won't make the same mistake as last time, trust me." She hung up. Digging in her bag, she pulled out her hooded bodysuit. She ducked down on the roof, pulling off her brunette wig. She made short work of changing, putting on her 'all-vision' goggles and clipping a few accessories to her side. She pulled out her favorite, a ladybug decorated, industrial yo-yo. She could, and often did, use it as a grappling hook. It took nearly a decade for her to master all the slight twists and tugs to active it's various features. She turned on the reflective feature of the bodysuit. While not ideal in daylight, most people would write her off as a bird or a trick of their mind. Leaving the rest of her things behind, she threw the yo-yo and leapt across.

She crept along, turning off the suit once she found the right vent to crawl in through. Having obsessed over this building for so long, Ladybug had the entire thing memorized. She crawled along, careful of her noise, until she was about where that locked room was. Slowing down, she now inched, listening to what was going on. Everything was muffled. There were definitely voices talking, but she could make out none of it. She kept scooting until she found a vent cover. The voices were still mostly murmurs but she could make out a few words here and there. "She" "after all" "son" were prominent ones. She slid up so she could peek between the grating. Gabriel looked as stone cold as ever. Though his hair was out of place and he wasn't fixing it. A glance at The Hawk showed a similar countenance. He was just as tense and his hand kept creeping towards something hidden among the papers stack in the middle of the desk.

 _ **SLAM**_

Ladybug felt all the hairs along her body stand on end, even though she watched as Gabriel slammed his fist down on the desk. "I will NOT tolerate this anymore! You-"and he lowered his voice to his normal speaking level. She couldn't see his lips well enough to get a read on what he was talking about.

The Hawk raised his hand in a placating manner. "Gabriel, I assure you, things will end soon enough. There is just-" Suddenly, he stopped talking and turned to look behind him. Gabriel shifted his attention there as well. The Hawk seemed to mutter something before he started around the desk. "I apologize, there seems to be an intruder. We will have to conclude this another time. I would HATE to risk your life."

Gabriel didn't say anything to that, but allowed himself to be quickly escorted away. Ladybug paused, had it been twenty minutes? Was it Chat Noir that they were noticing or did they have thermals somewhere and know she was in the building. She could know if she dropped down and found out what he had looked at. But was this a trap? Did she risk it? Or should she play it safe, leave to meet up with Chat Noir, settle their differences, then work together on kidnapping her husband?

She had spent too long deliberating. Pain shot through her left thigh. Having trained all her life for moments like this, she didn't cry out, or even jump. But she could tell that this was going to be serious. She heard a sound from below her, but she was too hyper focused on her leg to give more thought to it. Suddenly more pain shot through her as whatever had pierced her was ripped away. She shoved against the vent as hard as she could to push herself backwards. It was a terrible idea as the broken metal of the vent sliced through her stomach. Pushing up with the good half of her body, she kept clear of the hole and moved forward instead. Luckily there was a turn not even a metre away from her. She tried to stay quiet, hoping to lose them simply because they'd have to go around the room to follow her. She heard more metal shot through metal, but luckily it missed her completely. She heard several more shots, but she had turned the corner already. There was a shout of frustration but she blocked it and her curiosity out for the sake of survival.

Obviously they'd have someone watching all vent openings for her, as well as turning up the heat so she couldn't just stay in there. She just hoped there was only one person for the roof and that she'd be able to stand on her leg long enough to swing away. Making the last turn, her blood ran cold (or perhaps col _der_ ) when she saw The Hawk waiting for her. He was facing the other way, but she was doubtful she'd have enough time to outrun this foe. He wasn't called The Hawk simply for his costume choices.

Stealing herself, she pushed forward, trying to get out of the grate before her noise could completely alert him to her presence. He had her by the throat before she could put a foot down. Holding her aloft, he made his way to the edge of the building. "Looks like the grasshopper didn't learn it's lesson to leave the big dogs alone," he snarled at her. "I can only assume you are one of theirs, no one else has evaded us so well. But I assure you, we will find your headquarters and put an end to all of you."

She tried to spit in his face for her answer, but his hand tightened and she scrambled to keep breathing. If he'd just let go of her, she could yo-yo out of here. His hand slackened just enough for her to breath again. "You have one option that doesn't end with your immediate death. Give us the knowledge we need to infiltrate the Miraculous command center. If you cooperate, we will let you go to live out your life however you want."

It was the same thing he said to Ladybug in the past before he locked her in with an explosive. Since he didn't know that she was Ladybug, maybe he'd try to torture her. All Miraculous agents, though especially the Honey Bee and Ladybug, were known for their resolve and that they couldn't be broken. Of course, that knowledge came from other foes not directly related to Papillion. It wasn't until her mother's death that Papillion experience it first hand. Her mother's real identity had been found out and her ashes were actually sent to the boulangerie. Master Fu has thankfully always intercepted all agents mail and was able to stop her father from finding out about their double life. However, the extensive amount of blood that she already lost would prevent her from being conscious for very much of that. She was already starting to see black around the edges of her vision.

He loosened his grip even more, probably trying to scare her. Adrenaline course through her and she swung her right leg up to kick him. Completely caught off guard, he stumbled back. However, he must have done some training since the first time she tired this on him as he didn't let go of her. Instead, his grip tightened again, but due to her twisting it was on a different part of her neck. It also wasn't as secure. She jabbed his elbow. Her neck was finally free. Yo-yo in hand, she tried to shoot away, but he grabbed onto her bad leg, causing her to crumble.

"You!" He sputtered. "You, you, I KILLED **YOU** "

She launched her yo-yo into his face. "You tried," she triumphantly replied. She tried to stand, but more of her vision was blackening now and she knew if she fully stood she'd faint. Instead she scooted away from him. If she could just get to the edge of the building...

"How the hell did you survive an explosion! I guess I just need to rip you apart!" He lunged at her. 

She was prepared for that, and had launched her yo-yo, bouncing off a vent and around a pipe behind them and coming up around his throat. "I wouldn't do that if I were you, Théo." He froze, more in shock that she knew his real name than in concern of a metal cord tightening around his neck. She smirked but stayed on the ground. She effectively screwed herself over. There wasn't enough strength left in her to tighten the cord enough to just chop his head off. There wouldn't be enough time for her to release him and escape. Not with her escape tool so thoroughly wrapped around the situation.

She had two chances for survival. One, no one bothered to check the roof long enough for him to be strangled to death. Or two...

"My Lady, you do seem to be in quite the sticky situation."

She groaned. "Really? I'm sitting in my own blood right now. Please just get me out of here." She didn't bother looking for him. Her nap time was quickly approaching.

"Well, I'll skip introductions then. What are we doing with The Hawk?"

"Releasing him," a new voice said. Ladybug put the effort in to look around The Hawk. Behind him, stood a figure she'd never seen before but would bet her life on being La Papillion. And he was holding onto Gabriel Agreste with a gun against his temple. She slackened her grip on the yo-yo. Not because her father-in-law's life was on the line. But because she felt darkeness taking her over. Noise seemed to fade out and all she could think about was how she never got the chance to make up with Adrien.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 天 哪 - tiān na- Mandarin- Oh my god!


	18. Adrien's Double Life

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Here is the promised "Resolution to the last chapter-with some build-up" for you.

Adrien woke up with an intense need for the bathroom. He glanced at his wife, hoping today wouldn't be one of those days. As he started to slowly slip out of her grasp, he found out it was, in fact, one of those days. "Mari, wake up," he whispered and gently tugged at her arms. Sometimes that was enough. She whimpered and held on tighter. "Seriously, babe, you need to stop doing this. Wake up." He started to gently rock her. She started flailing. He ducked back, trying to get out of reach, but she grasped onto his pajama shirt like she was drowning. With a gasp, she finally woke up. She sheepishly let go of him as he gave her a look. "We really need to discus how to wake you up when you are stuck in one of those dreams. Because I really like being able to get up to go to the bathroom. And, you know, breathing." She blushed harder and stammered out an apology as he rushed to relieve himself. Apparently unable to drop it she followed and talked to him through the door.

"Really, I'm so sorry Adrien. Usually there's like, a reason I dream these things. But I don't even know this time."

"Well, could it be jitters over opening night tonight?" he asked as relief flooded him.

""Maybe. I just, you'd think I wouldn't be with how well I know my part," she pouted as she played with the doorknob.

He shook his head. _That's not how nerves work, but ok, Princess._ He washed his hands and called out, "Coming out." He had learned his lesson, if no one wants to end up on the floor, announce the door's movements. He took one look at her pouting, puppy dog eyes and tugged her with him back to bed. As he snuggled back under the covers he asked, "Aren't nerves before a production good? That shows that you're excited and want to do your best."

She chewed on her bottom lip a moment before groaning and pushing her face into his chest. Adrien chuckled and patted her head. They were quiet for a moment. He contemplated how normal this seemed. Their story was anything but, yet here they were. Adrien was reassuring his nervous wife that she could succeed. Marinette was drawing comfort from her husband's aura. His life couldn't be any better. _**What if you kiss her?** Gah I don't need thoughts like that in my head. This isn't really how I want that to go down._ Needing to stop his errant mind before something embarrassing like a boner happened, Adrien said, "You should probably be getting to final dress."

She hummed, but didn't remove her face. Instead she wrapped her arms tighter around him. As much as he loved how much she relied on him, he really wanted to discuss a few things before something like THAT happened. Before he could come up with any further persuasion, she finally pushed herself up and made her way to her bathroom to shower. Marinette had told him that she'd be busy all day long, and he acted like it totally made sense for final dress to last all day. He assumed she was going to go out as Ladybug for some day time action. She tended to get clingier in her sleep when she was more restless or fidgety, and that usually had something to do with her alter-ego.

He pretended to leave, making sure she answered him calling out before he slammed the door shut. He hit a button on his phone to call the elevator up so it would ding. Just in case she was listening for that. Then he snuck back into his room, through his closet and into Chat Noir's Layer. Or, as he liked to call it, The Cat Cave. He got busy going through some old video files. He still wasn't caught up after the whole birthday fiasco. He figured that would occupy his time until his Lady returned. _Dieu, I can't wait until we catch La Papillion. I can finally reveal myself to Ladybug and all will be right in the world._

Not wanting to seem like he was stalking her, he waited until she had been staring at L'Arc for 20 minutes before texting her.

_Why, my lady. Why are you trying to take this cat out of his element?(⌯˃̶᷄ ﹏ ˂̶᷄ ⌯)ﾟ_

_**What are you even talking about, Chat?** _

_Cats are creatures of the night my lady. I'm supposed to be napping during the day. (∪｡∪)｡｡｡zzz_

_**Sorry cat, but this bug is busy tonight. And based on patterns I have a feeling there's a meeting today.** _

_｢(ﾟﾍﾟ)_

_What patterns are you talking about? How did I miss this?_ Baffled, he pulled up the selection of videos he was still working on getting through. He frowned down at his phone as it buzzed again. 

_**It started when you were gone a while ago. One Gabriel Agreste made his way to L'Arc for a "meeting" and since then, I've noticed his schedule syncing up with when special meetings are held in that locked back room. I don't have any more evidence to connect him to Papillion, but today I'm going to try listening in.** _

He could feel a mild panic settling inside his heart. _What? You mean the fashion mogul? You think he's connected with Paris's crime lord?_

_**What no emoji for that? And like I said, I saw him have a meeting once and I know it had something to do with Papillion. Why else would Gabriel Agreste go to a random bar in the middle of the day? I just need stronger evidence to connect him to everything so I can interrogate him.** _

This CANNOT be happening. His dad? It's all his dad's fault? No, but he would never- _You said this happened when I was gone?_

He watched Ladybug frown before typing out her next reply. _**Yeah, I tried contacting you, but you didn't answer. Hey you wanna come over and play back-up? I'm going to get down there so I can listen in.**_

Ok yeah, he was going to have a heart attack. He could not handle losing the love of his life and find out that his father was the one who had killed his mother all in one day. He hit call and watched for her reaction. She hesitantly answered. "LB, you can't go in there. Not today, please. My wife has a thing tonight that I cannot miss. Let's plan on doing this next time, and we can both go in. Or I can play back-up on the roof or whatever. But please, give me time to research what you said about Gabriel and to plan-"

"Your wife?" she said dumbly. He watched her body go slack. It was his turn to frown.. "Wait, you weren't joking about being married?"

"What? No I wasn't joking. Why would I joke about that?" _YOU!!! YOU. ARE. MY. WIFE!!!_ He wanted to scream at her. But now was **really** not the time.

"Why the hell do you flirt with me like you do if you're married?!?" she bit into the receiver.

"Because, that's how we've always talked? And you flirt back." _AND YOU ARE MY WIFE._ "What, were you lying when you said you were married?"

"I'm only married so I can be in Paris and catch Papillion! Otherwise I wouldn't even be here!"

Ice started running through his veins. "What?" He said dumbly as his whole body shut down. He wasn't sure if he should ask, but he had to know. "So what, are you going to leave him once you're done here?"

He wished she didn't have those sunglasses on so he could read her better. All he could tell was that she was upset. "Well I guess I don't have a reason to anymore," she whispered. Before he could reply, she hung up on him. She shot him a text that she was doing this with or without him, turned off her phone, and made her way to the delivery door of L'Arc.

He just stared at her disappearing form on the screen. _How the-_ He didn't have time for this. He needed to get there so he could protect her if needed.

He quickly changed into his biking gear and took off for the elevator. He took off the button panel to tweak with the wiring to take him down to where his bike was hidden. He barely got his helmet on before speeding off. The whole time, his thoughts circled around Ladybug's last comment. "Well I guess I don't have a reason anymore." What did that even mean? Was she actually in love with Chat Noir, even after all these years of denying his advances? But, why would she get married to someone just to divorce them later? Wasn't there a better way to get a VISA? She was young, she could pass for a university student. She even came a couple weeks before the semester started. Not that he didn't WANT to be married to her, but wouldn't that have been easier?

When he first realized she was planning on coming here, he thought that was the route she'd take. She would enroll at the Uni and he would make sure to get in at least one of her classes. Sure he was majoring in Physics, but he still had electives to take. He'd figure something out. Then he could flirt with her as him real self and slowly let her know that he was in fact Chat Noir as well. Since Adrien Agreste wasn't enrolled, he was sure he could pull it off. Charles Taylor, British foreign exchange student, was a much more casual guy. And there was no way for anything to get back to Gabriel about what his son actually did all the time. One off photo-shoots were easy to squeeze into his schedule seeing as he didn't have a full load. And when he needed to take a semester off to travel, he did. Charles was in no rush to graduate.

Chat Noir, on the other hand, needed to talk with his Lady face to face, even if that meant abducting her himself. And he needed to be there post haste so that The Hawk didn't kill her first. Dieu she was too strong willed sometimes.

His phone started to beep and he pulled over to find that she was leaving the premise. He missed his chance. He followed her, trying to find a good chance to take off with her. However, she went straight to the theatre. Cursing his luck, he went back home to scour the videos for his father's visits to L'Arc.

Hours later, an alarm went off on his phone, reminding him of opening night. The more he had stewed on it will reviewing videos, the more concerned he was about his father's doings. Arielle Agreste had been a secret agent for Miraculous, a secret Adrien had stumbled upon one night when he was five and trying to find his mother. She had been know as The Peacock. She was killed by Papillion. A fact Adrien had to infer from her being gone and knowing that that was who she had been after before she went missing. An official story was needed of course, and Adrien wasn't quite sure what his father knew of the truth. All he knew was his father threw himself into his fashion label after that and became more and more distant as he trained Adrien to follow in his footsteps.

If his father was La Papillion, did that mean? But he wouldn't have know his mother's identity before killing her. There's absolutely no way he would have knowingly killed his beloved wife. But, but there was no way they would have been able to keep those secrets from each other. Right? So his father couldn't have possibly-

RIIIIING, RIIIIIING.

Adrien jumped, looking at his phone. He had an incoming call from Nino. He ignored it only to see a text asking where he was at, the show was about to start.

Adrenalin rushed through him as hurried to leave. He asked the Gorilla to pick up some flowers for him during the show so "they'd be as fresh as possible." That would save him some time. And he promised to buy the Gorilla as many tickets as he wanted for a later performance if he wished to see it as long as he got those flowers tonight.

The spotlights were just turning on as he entered. He had just slipped into his seat when the full stage lights came on. He watched the performance without seeing any of it. His mind was whirling with thoughts of his parents. He was thankful that he had already seen the play. Because it was over before he had even realized it and Nino and Alya were pushing him into the hallway. The Gorilla was waiting with his bouquet. The rest of the evening was a blur. He was home settling into bed without remembering anything leading up to it. All his thoughts were still so hyper focused. He had to get to the bottom of this.

"Hey, Adrien. Is something wrong?"

Adrien was shocked out of his reprieve. "Hmm? Why do you ask?" He didn't look at her, instead turning to turn off the light.

"It's just, you've had your model smile on all evening. I just wanted to make sure you were ok," she mumbled, tugging on her hair.

Internally he sighed. He didn't want to make her worry, but he honestly couldn't handle having any kind of conversation with her right now. "Can we talk about it in the morning? I'm really, really tired," he answered, settling into his normal sleep position.

"Oh, of-of course! I hope you sleep well," she whispered, slipping down to lie beside him.

"You too, Mari." Adrien waited for sleep to come, but long after his wife had started her soft snoring, he realized that his brain wouldn't be able to shut off until this was finished. He crept out of bed, going to the bathroom first for a valid excuse in case she woke up. When he came back, she was snoring away, taking up the whole bed. Normally, he'd think it was cute, then pick her up so she wrapped around him and he could fit back in the bed. Tonight though, he just lightly kissed her hair and slipped into The Cat Cave.

When his alarm went off that it was morning, he went out to make coffee. He got back to work and lost half the day before he realized he should say something to Marinette. He called Alya and explained that something came up with work and he wouldn't be at tonight's performance. After hashing out what to do with his ticket, he shot a text off to Marinette to explain things to her. Then, he turned all notification off on his phone except for alarms and dug back in.

He finaly had mapped out all the instances of his father's trips to L'Arc since Ladybug had set up her cameras. She had been right, every time there was a special shipment, Gabriel went to the club and had a meeting in that back room. Though, what she probably didn't notice was how agitated his father looked every time he left. Switching to his feeds on his father's office, he found that Nathalie would get a call on her personal cell phone, then tell him about his "appointment" and he would leave for it. She always said appointment in that tone. Both of them would leave and come back after some random amount of time. Sometimes it was longer. Sometimes it was shorter.

Adrien recalled something he had been confused by some time after first setting up surveillance on his father. At the time it meant nothing, but now? He pulled out a binder. At the beginning was "Unresolved Items." He opened that and there on the first page in his neat penmanship:

_Father has been receiving letters as of late. He always burns them after reading them and they do not come in standard mail so I have no way of intercepting them. He is always very upset after seeing what they contain and will lock everyone out and go into a design frenzy._

_The letters have stopped, however, there are certain times every month that father will get so angry that he once again locks everyone out. I have tired to come in during these times to no avail. Not even getting in trouble will bring father out._

_Father seems more subdued about whatever is happening now. He hasn't locked himself away for a long while. He does seem to review accounting books with some sort of malice, but after reviewing them myself I cannot figure out why. Shipments come and go as expected and seem priced appropriately for what they carry. Cannot find a pattern for the days that anger him._

Adrien stared at the words. What if.... La Papillion is bribing father somehow? And using father's deliveries to mask his own? That made SO MUCH sense! He pulled his phone out to see if Ladybug was around so he could tell her the good news. His luck was in for once and he hit dial.

"Chat Noir! 天 哪 ! I need to apologize to you. I'm not entirely sure I understand everything, but I know you've been upset and I just really need to make it up to you. So please don't hang up on me and hear me out. Or! Or we could meet up! I will do what ever it takes to make it up to you. I'm just so, so sorry! Please!" she babbled into the receiver. She paused, panting to regain her breath.

 _What is she talking about?_ Then he realized it had been a week since he last talked to his wife as either her civilian self or her superhero self. "Wow, uh, I-I'm sorry, LB. I should have responded to you. I wasn't that upset with you. I was more caught off guard by the Gabriel Agreste thing. I've been researching that for the past couple days. And before you say anything else, I have confirmed that he is NOT directly connected to Papillion."

"He-he's, what? Why did you, I mean, how did you even-"

"Look, there's a lot to go over and I think we are definitely long over due for a meet up. Why don't we talk about all of this over lunch? My treat?" _Yes! This would be a perfect time to go over everything!_

But his lady cut into his thoughts. "Chat, The Hawk is taking Gabriel Agreste into L'Arc. If you say he's not directly involved, I'll believe you, but I NEED to find out what is going on. I'm so sorry, but I'm going in." She paused.

 _NO! All the things that need discussing!_ He sighed. "Ok. Go in, but be super careful. I'll be there in 20 for back-up."

"I won't make the same mistake as last time, trust me." She hung up.

_Damn right you're not. Because I'll be there this time._

Chat Noir, in he biker gear with his trusty baton, arrived on L'Arc's roof just as Ladybug shot her yo-yo out. He watched as it bounded back to wrap around The Hawk's neck. Smirking at his Lady's mad skills, he felt it appropriate to announce himself. "My Lady, you do seem to be in quite the sticky situation."

She groaned. "Really? I'm sitting in my own blood right now. Please just get me out of here." She stayed on the ground and that bothered him. He quickly took in all the blood around her and saw it coming out of the vent. _Damn, no way to know how much blood she's lost. Gotta get out of here fast._

"Well, I'll skip introductions then. What are we doing with The Hawk?"

"Releasing him," a new voice said. Chat swung around, baton switching into staff mode and raised in defense. Behind him stood a figure he had surprisingly seen in his dreams before. La Papillion. And he was holding onto Gabriel Agreste with a gun against his temple. Everything seemed to slow down for Chat. He heard the cord of Ladybug's yo-yo slide against the pipe and he jumped into motion. He spun with his staff still extended, smacking The Hawk and knocking him out of his way. He pushed off towards Ladybug. The gun went off, but he felt it ricochet off his helmet, meaning his father should be fine. He didn't bother to check though. Thankfully, Ladybug's yo-yo had some sort of automatic recoil. He scooped her up and leapt over the edge of the building. He kicked off against the building as they fell and used her yo-yo to try to hook onto an opposing rail. He wasn't able to actually swing them up like she could have, but he did dramatically slow down their fall.

Chat slammed into the pavement, then took off for his bike. He cursed under his breath as he realized that he couldn't hold onto Ladybug and drive the motorcycle at the same time. _Maybe she'll wake up before we get that far. It's not like my ride is around the corner or anything convenient like that._

He heard shouting and commotion coming from behind him, but ignored it completely as he sprinted down an alley way. His luck was dwindling as he got closer to his bike. Not only was his lady still down for the count, but the commotion behind him was getting louder. _Do I chance it? I could loose hold of her trying to turn a corner. But, I don't think I can out run them._

He turned the final corner and found some strange person between him and his ride. They seemed to be ready to attack, so he just turned a different way and kept going. He couldn't chance that person being one of Papillion's henchmen. He heard them call something out, but ignored it. He didn't have time to decipher what language they were speaking in, let alone what it was they were trying to say.

Down the next back street, there was another strange person. This one had an air of familiarity about them. He hesitated but turned down a different path. Both of them, he realized as he finally found a clear side street, had on bodysuits similar to Ladybug's. They covered everything except the eyes and were form fitting. Both were in black. He shook his head and realized that he was just a block away from the theatre. Maybe he could make that work for them.

He skidded to a halt behind a dumpster. He hadn't realized that there was no more noise behind him. He was too focused on saving his Lady. He carefully laid her on the ground then pulled off his blacks. He had nice clothes on underneath because he expected to go straight to the play after today's events. He took off his dress shirt, then carefully peeled off the top part of Ladybug's suit. He was surprised to find civilian clothes beneath it. He put his shirt back on and ripped off the rest of her suit. He stuffed that and his blacks into his helmet and hid it behind the dumpster. He ripped off one of his sleeves and pressed it into the wound on her leg. While gently examining the injury, he realized it went high up, almost all the way to her chest. He took his shirt back off and press the rest of it into her side.

He scooped her back up and started out of the alley way. He intended to go sobbing into the theatre begging for an ambulance. He ran right into that first strange woman. Hoping against hope that his lady's luck was with them in that moment instead of his, he started babbling to her. "Mon dieu! Please, I beg you. She needs an ambulance. Do you have a phone on you? Oh dieu! Please I, I don't even know what happened to her. I-I-I just *hic* I need to save her. I can't live without her. Please!" He ended with a sob, real tears falling down his face as the implications of what he just said hit him.

The strange woman just motioned to the ground. He knelt with her and she examined the wound. He wasn't sure what she did, but Marinette started coughing and when he looked back down, her wounds had clotted. The woman took his shirt and left. He just stared in shock. _Is, is that enough? Does she need a transfusion? Oh dieu, I don't even know what her blood type is._ He once again took his wife in his arms and started down the street. He just needed to get to the theatre. Someone there would have a phone he could use to get a ride to the hospital.

Adrien walked into chaos. The tech crew was running all over the place, trying to get something adjusted. Juleka and Claire were on the stage with, from what he could tell, what had to be Marinette's understudy. The new voice was quavery and would fall to a hush after every sentence. Bridgette kept yelling out for more cognac. Felix's voice came in hushed tones, so Adrien wasn't sure what he was saying. He just stumbled in and started calling out. "Bridgette, oh dieu, Bridgette!"

"Agreste! Someone better be dying since neither of you have been-" Bridgette, and everyone else, turned to Adiren, standing there covered in blood. "Nom de Dieu! Is she dying? Quick, Felix call an ambulance!" Bridgette rushed over as did someone with a first aid kit. "Adrien, what the HELL happened?!"

"I don't, I don't know. I-I-I can't remember. I just, dieu, Bridgette please. I can't lose her!" He started sobbing and Juleka rushed over to hug him. She rubbed his back and started patting his head when he flinched. "Ow!" _Did, did the bullet NOT ricochet of my helmet?_

"Adrien do you remember what hit you in the head?" Juleka asked. She was very calm, almost the only person not freaking out at the sight of blood.

"Hit me?" he questioned. She touched the spot again and he flinched away from her. "Dieu that hurts! I, I don't remember." He tried to reach up, but couldn't without dropping Marinette. He stopped trying and started begging again. "Please, Juleka, please! I can't live without her!"

Juleka directed them to the lobby just as the ambulance arrive. They had him lie her on the table so they could strap her in and took off, asking more detailed questions, none of which Adrien could have answered even if he wasn't faking amnesia. Adrien prayed that his Lady's luck was following them. He didn't think he could handle it otherwise.


	19. No Rest for the Wicked

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marinette doesn't have time to catch up before being thrown into the fray again.
> 
> Three chapters in one month?!?! Whoa baby am I on a roll! Lol hope you enjoy!

Beep. Beep. Beep.

Marinette was floating in a sea of blackness.

Beep. Beep. Beep.

With ever present beeping apparently. She didn't know what was going on. Why was she here? She was asleep, right? Why wasn't she dreaming something then?

"Hello, doctor. How is she doing?"

_Adrien?_

"Her body accepted the transfusion just fine. There is no infection forming so once she's woken up she should be fine to be released. She will need a wheel chair or at the very least crutches for a while, but if she's as sprightly as you say, she should be back to normal activities in no time.

 _What?_ Marinette struggled to move. _What is she talking about?_ The beeping got louder. _What happened to me?!_

"Mari? Love are you awake?" Adrien moved to her side. Or at least, she assumed that pressure on her hand was him grabbing it. "Is that beeping a good thing?"

Marinette opened her eyes and saw the blurry shape of Adrien before her, turned back to look at the doctor behind him. She shifted her focus to the doctor who was looking at a clipboard? at the foot of the bed. "Wha-?" she tried to ask what happened, but her throat was dry and she coughed instead. Adrien immediately turned back to her and reached for something beside her. He wrapped an arm around her shoulders to hold her up and held a glass of water to her lips. The icy water was too cold, but her throat had been so dry that she pushed through it, rubbing her teeth with her tongue after to try and warm them back up. "What ha-cough-hap-" she was interrupted by another coughing fit.

"Shhhh, it's ok. You don't need to talk," Adrien reassured her as he quickly set the glass down and started to rub her back. "You were injured and lost a lot of blood. It had clotted, but you still needed a transfusion and the doctor said it was best for you to stay here until you woke up in case your body rejected the foreign blood." Once her coughing was under control, Marinette nodded. Hands wandering, she tried to find the injury. Adrien grabbed her hands and cut in, "Your left thigh has the worst of it, but it also went up through your ribs. And, ah, to be honest no one knows what exactly happened. I don't even know if I was with you. I apparently got hit in the head with something. I carried you all the way from where ever it happened to the theatre and they helped me get you to the hospital. I can't find my phone or yours or really anything, so I'm assuming they were stolen. A nurse helped me fill out a police report. Do you happen to remember anything? The doctor said it looks like something pierced you and was ripped out and up your belly."

"Thigh?" she managed to get out. She frowned in thought. _What, what had happened?_ Marinette let her head fall and she ended up staring out the rooms window into the hall. A nurse walked by with someone pulling an IV. Next came what what probably a worried spouse as they rushed past. Then there was a child with a butterfly shaped balloon. Marinette was slammed with a memory. Silver body suit, similar to all the Miraculous suits actually, accented with a purple cape reminiscent of butterfly wings as well as long gloves and boots. Purple goggles and a voice-changing mask like The Hawk used adorned his face. The suit seemed to have some sort of shimmer or something on it too, because she couldn't for the life of her remember if he was average, skinny, or fat. He could have been as tall as Gabriel, or his boots could have given him additional height. In any case, she had no way to profile him outside of that one instance and had nothing further to go on. Everything flooded back now and Marinette almost groaned out loud. Unfortunately for her, Théo was not only still alive but he now knew that Ladybug knew who he was. If he finds out that Marinette's leg has been injured the same way Ladybug's was, he'll piece two and two together. And if what she over heard is true, then there's no way she'll be able to hide this.

"Mari, darling," Adrien cut into her thoughts. She shifted her attention to his face; it was etched with concern. "You don't have to force yourself to remember. I'm just happy that you are alive. I was so scared." Honest to God fear was laced through the backs of his eyes. His was just barely holding it back right now. Probably because he needed to be strong for her or some bullshit. She closed her eyes. She couldn't deal with this right now. Not when there were so many things on her mind.

_How did Adrien even find me? What happened to Chat Noir?_

Her eyes popped back open. _Chat._ Good God, what if he was dying in an alley somewhere? Or worse, what if Adrien had duked it out with him because he thought HE had hurt her?! She needed to ask Adrien about it but he had stepped away during her musing to sign something for the doctor. He thanked her and she left as a nurse came in with a wheel chair. The nurse came over to Marinette and checked her stats before he took out her IV drip. He then picked her up and placed her in the wheel chair. Adrien thanked him as well and wheeled Marinette to the elevator. She held her tongue, paranoid that La Papillion had eyes and ears in the hospital. The Gorilla was waiting for them out front and handed Adrien a blanket. He wrapped that around Marinette before picking her up and placing her in the car. He scooted in after her. The Gorilla put the wheel chair in the trunk and climbed in up front to drive them home.

Marinette still waited, not even really trusting their chauffeur. She needed to know about Chat Noir. God, she should have met up with him instead of charging in there. What if he was just as badly injured? AND WHO WILL TELL HIS WIFE!!! Now she really needed to learn his identity. Chat wasn't part of an organization. He had no one to intercept horrible messages for him. No one could reach out and explain why he had been risking everything. She knew the pain of loss, but what would it be like if she wasn't an agent and Master Fu wasn't around to tell them why Sabine was gone? How horrible would it be to go on tirelessly looking for someone who may or may not be alive?

To her surprise, the Gorilla didn't leave after she was situated back into the wheelchair. He instead followed them up to the penthouse, carrying something with him. Adrien didn't question it, simply riding up in silence. Marinette waited, unsure what was going on. They entered the penthouse and went straight to the bedroom. To her shock, they entered the closet, all three of them. Adrien grabbed a trunk, passing it over her to the Gorilla, along with all the other little nic-naks in the way. When everything was cleared, Adrien turned to his wife. "Ok, so don't freak, I promise to explain everything." She frowned and gripped the armrests of her chair. Adrien did something to the wall and it popped open causing her to jump. He shoved it aside, revealing the entrance. As he pushed her through, she noted that the wall was quite thick. The Gorilla closed it after he came through, plunging them into darkness.

Marinette's heart pounded as she waited. Adrien seemed to be situating something and the Gorilla just came up behind her to wait. Finally, he warned that he was going to turn on some light. She covered her eyes until she felt the space brighten. Slowly peeking between her fingers, she noted that she was in a very sophisticated tech center. There were monitors everywhere, all sorts of controls, even a variety of radio devices. One screen jumped at her though. It was the feed from her hookup on the hidden room of L'Arc. Her jaw dropped and she scanned the other monitors. One other showed a different one of her feeds, but the rest were of different places. Something that shocked her when it really shouldn't have was the feed in Gabriel Agreste's office. He was pacing back and forth, on his cell phone.

While she was busy gaping at her surroundings, the Gorilla grunted and handed his bundle to Adrien. "Oh, thank you! Did you have any troubles? I ran into a strange, well, I'm pretty sure she was a woman." The Gorilla shook his head. Marinette broke her attention away from Gabriel to watch Adrien riffle through what appeared to be a helmet. A very familiar, black helmet. He pulled out a cell phone that was ringing. Adrien frowned, but after turning it around quickly answered it. "Hello? Father, I'm sorry for not answering. My phone had been lost. I think anyway. The Gorilla found it though and just got it back to me." The Gorilla slowly backed up, and while Adrien turned to watch his father through the monitor, slipped out of the room. "Father, Father, no I don't-" Adrien sat down in the desk chair, clicking a few keys to zoom in on his father's face. "Now will you just listen." He frowned and started bouncing his leg. "No, Father, listen-" Now a hand went through his hair as he leaned back. "No. I will not. No, Father, listen to me." Adrien groaned as Gabriel via the monitor finally sat in his own desk chair and started jabbing it with his finger as he made whatever point.

Marinette wanted to yank the phone out of her husband's hand and cuss out his father. Her anger was starting to bubble up and she had a lot of raw emotion that needed an outlet right now. She twitched, trying to let him do this on his own. However, she couldn't get up and pace herself. So she caved and snatched the electronic. "Hey, Gabe, it's your favorite daughter-in-law. Just couldn't stand the frustration so I thought I'd chime in."

"Give the phone back to Adrien this instant. Don't even try to act like this all isn't your fault."

Adrien made a half-hearted attempt at getting his phone back, but she just brushed his hands away and he gave up. "Here's the thing about phone calls you may have been unaware of, Gabby, they are kinda like, private things? And I have no clue what you're referring to because I don't know what you were dictating to your son. Hard to try and pick up context clues when all you hear is 'Hey, listen!'" She said the last bit in a high falsetto and Adrien snorted.

She heard Gabriel sigh through the phone and turned to the screen in time to see him push his glasses up to rub the bridge of his nose. "Listen, Marinette," he bit out at her, sending waves of ice through the receiver. "I will not allow my son's life to be jeopardized. He is leaving the country NOW and he is not returning until I tell him to."

Marinette frowned and looked at Adrien. His face twisted and he reached out but she shook her head and turned back to watch her father-in-law. "I'm not sure I understand your vehemence or why this is my fault, because I assure you, no matter what I ask, Adrien make his own decisions. I don't ever recall asking him to do something that would put him in harms way though."

"For your benefit, I will explain this once. There is a threat to his life. I do not tolerate anyone threatening Adrien. So, when things start getting hot, I send him out of the country. Thanks to you though, I can't get him to go on a trip this time."

"That kind of sounds like a cowards way out," she jeered. "Why would anyone," she glanced at Adrien and changed her sentence. "What in the world could anyone have over you that would cause you to worry so much?" Adrien cocked his head, frowning at her before scrambling for the phone again. She pushed him away, but turned the phone on speaker. She held it so the receiver was still pointed at her mouth, but now the earpiece was between them.

"This, this doesn't get back to Adrien."

Blue met green. "Of course not. Adrien honey, would you go make me something to eat?" Adrien blinked but started to stand up. She gave him a look and pulled him back into his seat. Then she motioned with her hand for him to talk.

"Uh, sure love, what would you like?"

"Oh you should make those dumplings like you did last time! I don't know how you make the dough, but it tastes just like Papa's."

"Ok, but please have my father talk me again before you hang up."

"Of course babe, I'll come to the kitchen when we are done." Adrien fiddled with the control board in front of him and a sound played of a door shutting. They both looked at the monitor again and saw Gabriel relax at the sound.

"Ok, he's gone. Now spill."

"His, my-my wife isn't dead. They have her. The deal was, after 10 years of me smuggling goods for them, they would give her back to me. By then, they'd have enough of a dirt trail on me to keep me smuggling for them. This is the tenth year. I've been trying to force them into at least telling me when they'll give her back, but they tell me not to push and keep threatening Adrien."

The gears started turning in her head. "But wait, I thought she died-er, uh, has been gone for longer than that. Adrien told me he was 9 when he lost his mother."

"It took a few years for them to figure out a way to get me to pay attention to them. They kept sending letters as blackmail, but I never open suspicious mail. They had her call my assistant and beg to talk to me. They had been letting me talk to her every couple months or so, but since our first conversation this year when I told her that she would be free soon, they've put a stop to that. That's when I started demanding to know when I'll be getting her back. Every time a shipment comes in, I demand that they tell me and still nothing."

"So, you're telling me that you let your son believe for years that his mother is dead when she isn't because...?" Marinette let her sentence hang.

Gabriel grumbled something then cleared his throat. "I have reason to believe she was a spy of some kind and he knew about it. I also except that is why this has become so difficult. They don't want to let her go because she will find a way to put a stop to them. If Adrien knew his mother was being held prisoner I know he would throw himself after her and I can't lose them both. I can't. So convince him to leave the country for me. Tonight. I don't care where you take him, spend us much as you want, just make sure he doesn't get involved in all of this.

Marinette leaned back. She looked at the setup before her, glance briefly at Adrien then closed her eyes and said, "I'm afraid I can't. You-"

Gabriel jumped up and started slamming a fist into his desk. "NO, **NO!** That is not an option! I can't protect him because of you, so you need to protect him in my stead! Why did you marry him if you don't love him? Don't want him to stay alive?!"

"Gabriel Agreste!" Marinette straightened to her full height. Her free hand sought out Adrien's. "Shut up and listen. I love your son to the moon and back. And I learned today that that isn't going to stop being a thing for me." She smiled at him and was rewarded with the most beautiful sight in existence. She almost felt like heat was radiating out with all that love and he was becoming a literal sun. She held back her giggle. "However I can't take him out of Paris for a very large reason. If you want to work with me though, I can make sure that La Papillion leaves you and our family alone."

"Wait, you know his... Why do you know his name. I was right, wasn't I? You didn't come to Paris for my son, did you."

"I didn't JUST come to Paris for your son. But I have loved him for years. At first, I didn't even realize it, then I denied it. He finally convinced me though and I'm never leaving his side." Adrien's grip tighten and he leaned forward to nuzzle her neck. She rolled her eyes and shouldered him away. "I'm also not going to stop my fight. It wasn't just your family that he's damaged. I'm going to do what is necessary to bring him down so that he can't harm anyone else."

"You were on the roof," Gabriel said slowly. They watched him fall back into his chair, swaying as it swiveled. "That was, but you were bleeding. What- Who was that in the black helmet? He seemed-"

"That was me, Father. Lying to me about Mother did nothing to ensure that I didn't follow her foot steps. It just led me to believe that La Papillion was responsible for her death and nearly gave me a heart attack when Mari thought that you were actually him." Marinette's eyes widened and she turned to Adrien. She gasped when she remembered what other truth bomb was dropped on him in that conversation. _No wonder he stopped talking to me! Good God! He must have thought his family was falling apart!_ Adrien winked at her and continued on. "But Father, Mari is right. He needs to be stopped. And you have seen him. Multiple times. You can help us. Please if you do we can end all of this."

Gabriel was quiet for so long, they both looked at the screen to make sure he was still there. Marinette almost gasped as she watched a tear roll down his cheek. "I-I can't lose you Adrien. I'll do whatever I can. Of course I will. For you and for your mother. Just, please, stay safe."

"You bet, Gabriel." Marinette leaned against her husband. He wrapped an arm around her, nodding his agreement. "Adrien is usually on tech instead of fighting. Luckily for me he was there earlier. But if he doesn't need to show up, then he promises to stay at his command center." Adrien sighed but assented to the demand.

"Very well. What do you need from me?"


	20. Fool's Gambit

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marinette needs to make sure Théo doesn't suspect anything which means convincing everyone she can still perform.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok so I hit a MAJOR writer's block on this chapter. I kept not liking anything that I was writing. I'm trying to hit the climax but I guess trying to force it is my problem. Thank you all so much for the support and comments. They are truly what keeps me going.

Marinette slowly stood up. If she was careful and used at least one crutch (or clung desperately to Adrien) she could walk. The pain was fierce, but it wasn't nearly as bad as the burns she survived through. Adrien hovered along beside her as she made her way down the hall to the kitchen. After that successful jaunt, she went down the other hall to the library/den. She sagged a little after that one. He pounced on her but she swatted him away. She went back to the kitchen, slower this time. She pulled a stool out and leaned against it.

"I really don't think you should do this."

"I told you, Adrien, kitty. I have to. It's the only way we can get a leg up on them."

Adrien's eyes widened. "Mon dieu, Buginette, did you just pun for me?" He started to bounce back and forth, his fists coming up to cover his mouth.

She groaned and threw an arm over her eyes. "Just, just stop. I have punned before. Besides, what kind of nickname is Buginette?"

He did not stop bouncing. His internal freak out must have been massive with how much his eyes were glittering at her. "But you've never punned for Adrien before." *Gasp* "Does this mean you like me!?"

"I am married to you."

"But still..."

Marinette groaned again and held her left arm out to him. "Ok stop. You don't get to pull meme crap like this on me. You knew the entire time and never told me. And all that bullshit about having a white knight complex, when all it is is a black cat thing. Just, help me. I need to be able to do the next performance. I can't just give them my identity on a silver platter."

Adrien grinned, but did stop his over-reacting. He took her arm and let her lean on him as they went back to the bedroom. Marinette took another rest. Adrien wouldn't stop hovering, but Marinette was a little giddy that this was both her husband and her kitty and he cared about her so much. She couldn't bring herself to tell him off for trying to baby her. _I can't believe I'm already married to my kitty!_

She wanted to squeal and blush and gush but now wasn't the time. And there wasn't really anyone BESIDES her husband who wouldn't be outraged and any number of the secrets she'd have to reveal to explain why she was so thrilled by this. They had already talked about it. Alya was never to know about Chat Noir. So, she'd have to gush to herself. Later. When la Papillion was in jail.

The Gorilla knocked on the door, reminding them that they needed to get going. Adrien had said in passing that he had worked with his mother and that's how he learned pretty much everything about the spy world after she left. What she was fairly certain he didn't know, though, was that the Gorilla was a Miraculous agent. She was kind of surprised that she hadn't caught on sooner to be honest. What kind of person calls themself, The Gorilla? The same that calls themself Ladybug, that's who. When it dawned on her, her eyes had widened a bit and he just winked at her. She decided to withhold that information for now, but would revisit it after this mission was over.

They made their way downstairs and got in the car. En route, Marinette started gearing up for their next little bit. She needed to convince Bridgette that she could do the performance still. She had to make sure Théo didn't suspect her. Her mugging injury needed to be viewed as "looked worse than it was." She had had about 40 missed calls from Alya alone having heard that she was hurt. It took about an hour on the phone to calm her down. And a promise to meet for lunch tomorrow. She needed to reassure everyone that it only looked so bad because Adrien was hit in the head so hard that he forgot to stop the bleeding.

They pulled up and slowly made their way inside. Adrien was hovering again, but he did let her do everything herself unless she specifically asked for something. Like doors. Doors and crutches here hard. They should have come in the main entrance where the handicap accessible doors were. But that would mean more walking and less energy for the battle of wits that she was sure was coming. As they made their way through the back stage, Marinette winced to hear her understudy struggling through the lines. She peeked out and could tell that the poor girl was hyperventilating inside the "bottle." Marinette took a deep breath, the strode forward saying, "I don't know. I don't know what love it. I don't know what dignity is. But I know all about contempt."

"Dieu Soit loué! Please tell me you are here to reclaim your part. Nom de dieu! Crutches? You have killed me, Marinette. KILLED ME. Felix, revive me with cognac." Bridgette collapsed back into her seat. Felix completely ignored her and called for the stagehands to get Genevieve out before she fainted.

"I know it looks bad, but they are just so worry wort over here doesn't have a conniption." Marinette indicated Adrien with a jerk of her head as she rocked forward. "I assure you, I'll be able to do just fine tonight. I just need to rest until then. I lost a lot of blood and my body hasn't quite gotten caught up yet."

"Oh! Brilliant idea! I just had a brilliant idea! Fill up some of those bottle with cognac for Marinette to drink through out the performance. She can re-hydrate that way!" Bridget smiled to herself as Marinette just gaped at her.

"Bridgette, that is a horrible idea. You are not allowed to kill my wife." Adrien said as he blanched. His face then brightened. "Though, filling them all with water would be awesome. She sweats so much when the stage lights are on, it will better for her that way I think." He directed her to sit, and she decided to not fight him. She was getting a little light headed.

Felix came back, nodding his agreement. "Yes, that seems good. We should get you some towels that look like rags in case any of them spill. We are so close to making it to the final performance without so much as a crack in that thing."

Marinette was happy with their quick acceptance. Maybe this would all work out in her favor! _Yay for Ladybug luck!_ They sent in the prop master to get all the bottles out while one of the seamstresses ran off to find towels. In the meantime, Claire, Juleka, and Marinette did just a quick line run-through. Marinette was then sent off to rest in a dressing room back stage. Adrien had been sent back there earlier and was working away on his laptop.

She flopped next to him and saw he was reviewing the footage from L'Arc since "the incident." She hadn't had any cameras on the roof, so they couldn't be sure of the turn of events after Chat Noir took off, but they did see a VERY disheveled Gabriel leaving the building a short time later. After talking it out, they decided there had to be an underground entrance for that suspicious locked room. Gabriel turned out to be less helpful than they thought he'd be. La Papillion always showed up in that strange suit and with a voice changer. Even though he'd spoken to the man a multitude of times over the years, he hadn't the foggiest clue who he could be outside of the mask. However, he did give them his list of shipments and what each one contained for the criminal. Obviously they couldn't go to the police and jeopardize not only Gabriel's business, but Arielle's life. But they could use that information to try and set up the police to find him.

She ended up falling asleep and Adrien woke up up in time to eat a quick sandwich before she needed to go get ready. Thirty minutes later she was sitting on stage, frozen in place waiting for the lights to raise. She could hear Alya, laughing at something Nino probably said to her. Then Nino laughed as well. She frowned until she heard Adrien's own voice join them. And it wasn't a model laugh like he usually did in public. She couldn't stop her smile as warmth spread through her chest. Then she heard Felix make the announcement and did her best to school her features.

Drinking throughout the show proved to just strengthen her character. Especially because she was cutting back on actually standing up and moving about. She still did for a few important bits, but every time she did, she wasn't sure that she'd be able to get up the next time. At one point she was required to stare listlessly out at the audience and her gaze connected with Théo's. He look was calculating. She jerked when Juleka dropped a chain. She slipped back in to her role and tried to block Théo out of her mind.

When the lights came up and they did her bows, she realized that Théo was gone. She barely kept the smile on her face as she turned to the other side to bow. The lights fell and she anxiously awaited the fly crew coming to let her out. The other two had run off stage to go greet everyone and still she waited. The prop master wasn't even coming out to gather up Juleka's chains. She realized that she couldn't hear any of the backstage crew. Her heartbeat picked up as she waited for something to happen.

Finally someone threw the fly line down to her with a soft, "Heads up!" They pulled her out and ran off immediately. Marinette frowned at the strange behavior but focused on her slow journey to the lobby. As she entered, Adrien practically glued himself to her hip so she could use him as her crutch. She smiled and signed programs when asked, otherwise she just thanked everyone counting down the minutes until they could leave. Her vision was going all Salvador Dali on her and she knew she needed to sit down.

Finally the lobby was empty except for friends. Marinette sagged against Adrien and he wrapped both arms around her to better support her. "Hey, Marinette, that was a pretty awesome performance."

She turned her head and locked eyes with Théo. He was wearing a scarf and her eyes wanted to glue to it and see if she could see the line from her yo-yo, but she really, really needed to make sure she didn't do that. She didn't need to give Théo any reason to believe she was Ladybug. "Aw thanks, Théo!"

"How come you didn't do that twirl again? I wanted to watch your feet this time and see how you could possibly be so graceful as to miss all those bottles," he joked, wrapping an arm around his boyfriend. Nathanaël turned to her with polite curiosity coloring his features. Marinette felt sweat trickle down her back. Alya pushed forward to tell them about the mugging accident and Marinette rushed to cut her off.

"Well you know Bridgette. She's never happy with anything. And, no offense Nathanaël, but that bottle just cooks me so we decided to fill the empties up with water to keep me hydrated during the show." She smiled brightly around the circle of friends.

Nino frowned and opened his mouth, but Alya smacked his side. He didn't react openly to it, instead just taking her hand and changing his sentence. "Hey we should get going before we can't find a good spot."

Théo chuckled and reached out to put a hand on his shoulder. "No worries, I have a special VIP booth that's always reserved for me at L'Arc. We can chill there."

"Dude sweet! Why don't we party with you more often again?" Nino wrapped his arms around both Théo and Nathanaël's shoulders, pulling them to the door.

"Ah, I still have to change Nino!" Marinette called out. He just waved a hand and went back to the joke he was telling. Nino's arm was the only thing keeping Nathanaël from doubling over in laughter. Théo was laughing as well. "Meet you-"

Alya cut her off. "Yeah, yeah. Just know you have a lot of explaining to do. Both of you!" She glared at both of them as she started backing away. Then she pointed back and forth between them and mouthed 'both of you.' Adrien just smiled and nodded before he pulled Marinette back to her dressing room.

They bumped into Rose, who was waiting for Juleka. Marinette changed as fast as she could, and when she came out found all three of them waiting for her. Adrien apparently convinced the ladies to join them. Also, he had the Gorilla to drive them to L'Arc even though it wasn't that far away. Marinette knew it was because she was looking pale without all that stage make-up on. She wasn't sure what he said to them though.

They didn't even have to flash ID at the bar, they were immediately admitted and were even led by waiter to Théo's private booth. The other four were already there and well into the shots by the looks of it. Adrien rubbed the back of his neck and said with a sheepish smile, "Ah, Rose, Juleka, why don't you two take those shots? We aren't drinking tonight."

"Wha-? I mean, not that you two can't have them, but come on Adrien, don't be a spoil sport!" Nathanaël protested, stumbling forward to flag down another member of the wait staff.

Marinette 'caught' him, blocking his path and said, "Hey, we can still have fun! I just have to meet with Gabriel in the morning for some stupid PR thing and don't want to be hung over for that. It's hard enough dealing with that crab..." She pushed Nathanaël gently back towards Théo. He slumped, but did accept her answer.

Juleka and Rose tossed back the shots with ease, though after Rose started giggling. "Ok, but no more shots for me. Juls should get to celebrate and I want to make sure I can take care of her later." Then she winked and giggled again as Juleka, blushing, plopped down in a chair. She pulled her girlfriend on top of her. Nino wolf whistled and Juleka blushed harder and buried her face into Rose's side. Adrien took the spot next to Alya on the sofa and Marinette sat in his lap. Nathanaël took another of the chairs and Théo leaned on the armrest. A waitress magically appeared in that moment to take drink orders and whisked away to make them.

"You know, as much as I want the play to be over with, I am going to miss the guns it gave me," Juleka said to break the silence.

"They are nice, but I like you soft too!" Rose giggled, grasping Juleka's bicep and giving it a squeeze.

"Hmm, I'm just ecstatic to not have to hear Bridgette's voice every day. Oh and dealing with Felix. Mon dieu, and that bottle! Never mind, there's a lot I'm excited to be done with," Marinette said. The other's laughed. She yawned and leaned into Adrien even more, curling around him just a little bit.

"You want to know what I'm excited for? Getting to hang out with you again!" Alya said. "You've been way too busy for my tastes. You need to not strive for a lead role next time." She patted Marinette's knee. Adrien made a noise of indignation.

"You want to stunt my beautiful wife and her beautiful talents?" he asked. The waitress came back then and sat down everyone's drinks. Adrien gave her his card with a smile, but she shook her head and walked away with a smirk on her lips."Huh?"

Alya and Nino laughed while Nathanaël held back. Marinette caught onto their mirth and grinned. Adrien just looked confused until Théo decided to have mercy on him. "The others of course told me how you always take care of the bill. I just couldn't let that happen. Especial if you aren't even going to drink any alcohol yourself." He held his drink up for everyone to toast. Everyone followed suite. Though Marinette had to force Adrien to take his as he pouted. "To one upping Adrien Agreste!" Everyone cheered with him and glass clinked against glass as Adrien sank further into his pout. Marinette laughed and held his arm out for him so everyone could clink against his class. He tried to fight, but since she was in his lap and he didn't want to spill on her, everyone else won out.

"I want to dance," Juleka said when the laughter died down. Rose nodded and started pulling her out of the room.

"Ooo! Me too!" Alya cried jumping up. Nino groaned and sank into the sofa. Alya shot him puppy eyes, but Nathanaël reached out to her.

"Be my partner! Théo doesn't like dancing here because if he steps on the dance floor someone pulls him away to work." Alya grinned and took his arm. "You coming?" he asked Marinette and Adrien. They shook their heads in sync and he shrugged and left.

The space felt so much cooler now that half as many people were in it. They were quiet for a moment. Marinette felt herself drifting to sleep. She trusted that Adrien would keep Nino from pulling too nasty of a prank on her. Said trickster suddenly called out to her. Cracking open an eye she found him turned towards her, leaning on the his fist with the stupidest smile on his face. "So Mari-babe, did you two have a good make-up session? Or should I say, make-out? Why was homeboy even mad at you?"

She skipped over confusion and slipped straight into embarrassment. He was referring to their gaming conversation. _Son of a bitch._ She scowled at him as her cheeks started to heat up. She pushed against his knee with her foot and buried her face in Adrien's chest. Adrien started rubbing her back. "What are you talking about, Nino?" he asked in the most innocent voice. Marinette felt herself trying to cringe out of existence in anticipation of the coming shame.

"I'm talking about how your beau invited me over for a gaming session, mostly to kick my ass, but because you hadn't been talking to her and she thought she did something wrong. Just checking to see if she followed my advice. By the way, you're welcome." He did a double finger guns and winked. Marinette could feel the horror coming over Adrien. She wasn't sure what Nino would take from Adrien's reaction, but had to think of something quick before her husband tried to spend the night begging for her forgiveness.

First, she glared at her supposed friend. Then she started kicking him in earnest. He just guffawed while Théo looked on in confusion. Next, she shifted so she straddled Adrien's lap. Grabbing his face she rested her forehead against his. She stared down the guilt in his eyes. Softening, she smiled at him and gave him a quick peck. "He's an idiot. Pretend he didn't say anything."

"Well, maybe I will thank him. Because now you're right where I want you." He winked and she realized he had wrapped his arms around her lower back. Subconsciously, her hands fell to his shoulders. She blinked at him in confusion until she realized that she was trapped. She couldn't out of his lap, not with how little strength she had right now. Though, maybe she didn't care. He licked his lips and her eyes snapped to them. Her mouth fell open but no words came out. Probably because her heart had lodged itself there. One of Adrien's hands came up to entwine his fingers into her hair. Her heart started pounding in earnest and now it was her turn to lick her lips. She really wanted this and there was no reason to hold back any more. She would never leave her Chaton, he had always had her heart. And he would never leave her, she had always been his Lady Love. He hesitated, but when her eyes came back up to his, he pulled her forward as he leaned in and kissed her.

The sound of Nino's voice registered in her mind, but then she felt Adrien's tongue brushing her lips and she kicked all thoughts out that weren't directly part of this moment. She readily opened her mouth for him, her tongue seeking his out. One of her hands slipped behind his neck, just to make sure he didn't go anywhere. The other slipped down his front, trying to caress every part of him. In turn, his hand on her back found it's way under her shirt to start rubbing circles into her skin.

Eventually the need for air overwhelmed her and she broke away. She just sat there panting. Adrien was smiling at her as he sucked air back into his body as well. "Maybe- Maybe we should-" he stopped, expelling all the air out of his lungs and slowly taking it all back in. "We should s _cat_ so the others don't feel so awkward." She threw her head back and groaned. Her insides may be tingling in excitement, but that didn't mean she couldn't ham it up. He chuckled and she leaned forward to bury her face in his chest. "Is that a yes?" he asked, mirth still dancing about his features. She nodded. He stood, holding onto her until he could carefully set her down. When she pulled away, she found that Théo and Nino were gone. She flushed as she grabbed onto Adrien's arm and leaned into him. _Maybe I should ask him to carry me. No wait I better wait till we are out of the club._ Adrien had his phone to his ear as they left. She wasn't quite sure who he was calling, he usually just texted the Gorilla. "Hey Nino, we are going home. Figured you guys didn't need to be uncomfortable all night. See you for lunch tomorrow!" With that he hung up and started walking faster.

Marinette could feel all the cells in her body slowly start to vibrate. She felt dizzy, lightheaded, drunk even. The back of her mind told her it may be her weakend physical state that was making her vision so hazy. Her hormones were telling her that she needed to tap that before she exploded. They made it outside and their car was already there. Adrien opened the door, swept her into his arms, and jumped into the back seat. The door just barely closed and his lips were back on hers. He pressed her into the seat as his mouth started exploring. She covered her mouth as she moaned. _Oh lord, are we even going to make it home?_ She really hoped the partition was up. Adrien's hands were all over her as his mouth left a trail of marks across her neck and collar bones. She tugged his shirt out of his pants and started unbuttoning it. She needed more skin. However, her hands were shaking and she kept losing focus. Either Adrien would nip her or pinch her somewhere and jolt her out of what she was doing. Which also made her scramble to keep herself from getting too loud. Or the car would hit a bump and she'd loose her hold on the buttons.

They came to a stop and the car was turned off. She panted as Adrien pulled away. He backed out of the car, then reached in to grab her. He didn't bother setting her down until they were at his, no definitely their bed now. He set her down then sat down beside her. She watched his chest, all that glorious **skin** as it rose and sank with his breathing. "You look really tired love. I think we should stop so you can sleep." She was too fixated for a moment to respond. She jerked up to meet his gaze, but she felt her body get heavy. Her eyelids fluttered. She let out a weak protest, but he just smiled at her. He kissed her forehead as she felt herself drift off to sleep. Her hormones screamed out their despair as darkness won out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dieu Soit loué = Praise the Lord


	21. Throwing stones

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hey guess what! Woohoo update! Lol so sorry that it's been so long. I struggled a lot with this chapter. I hope you enjoy.
> 
> The final performance is upon Marinette, but she has some hurdles to jump over before she can rest.

Marinette was awakened by a very strong scent of coffee. Cracking an eye, she found Adrien setting a breakfast-in-bed tray down on his side of the bed. He came around to her side and she quickly closed her eye to see how he planned on waking her. She was not disappointed. He gently rolled her so she was on her back and brushed the hair out of her face. He whispered her name, over and over again, as he started peppering her face in kisses. She tried to be groggy as she "woke-up" to his ministrations. "Hmm, good morning Adrien. How did you sleep, Chaton?" Eyes droopy, she smiled and leaned up to kiss him.

He blushed profusely and muttered something before grabbing the pillows from his side so she could sit up comfortably. "You're breakfast awaits, my lady." He gave her his best Lumière impression before grabbing the tray and placing it in her lap. She giggled and took in the mouth watering array. He definitely had way too much food, much like her first breakfast here. She of course selected the coffee first. As she hummed over her elixir of life, Adrien went over the day's schedule. First and most importantly, she was to rest as much as possible today, eat plenty of iron rich foods, and drink plenty of fluids. Second, they were in fact stopping by Gabriel's office for more information from him and to pass off a body cam for his next meeting with la Papillion. Then they had lunch with Alya and Nino to prove that she was fine. Followed with a rest before tonight's performance.

Dropping off the camera, that Adrien engineered himself, they made their lazy way to the restaurant they were meeting Alya and Nino. Even though they were more than an hour early, the other two were already there. Alya was dictating something to Nino, complete with wild arm movements and the occasional raise of her voice. Nino just nodded and sipped his drink until he noticed blond and locked eyes with Adrien. Alya caught the moment instantly and whirled. Daggers shot down Marinette and she was suddenly feeling very nervous.

"Hey guys, you should have told us to come earlier. I don't want to take up your whole day or.... um.... any- anything," Marinette stammered, getting more and more agitated the closer she got to the venom that was just pouring off Alya in spades. Even Adrien pulled a little in front of her with a cheery smile. Before he could try anything to placate her, she cut him off with at sharp jab towards their seats.

"Ok, I'm going to need some **details** from you. First off, What THE **CAPITAL FUCK** MARI!" Alya screamed, her voice raising to an almost piercing screech. Several other patrons shot her dirty looks. A member of the wait staff came over as if summoned and asked if she needed anything. Adrien gave them an order for the whole table, seeing as Alya and Nino hadn't gotten that far. They nodded then politely reminded the table to keep the volume down even though they are at an outside table so as to not disturb the other dinners.

Marinette waited for the server to leave before sheepishly looking at her friend. "Alya, I'm sorry. I know a lot has gone on. And you should really know about all of it. Um... where do you want me to start?"

"How about you start with the part where you should have reported for some back-up and didn't. Let's start with how you think you are some solo vigilante. Let's start with the fucking part where you bled all over who the fuck knows where because you didn't report for back-up!" Alya slammed her fists on the table. Other patrons glared at her again.

Nino sighed heavily and grabbed her hand. "Babe, you said you could be calm about this. This is not calm. Either you need to remember what an inside voice is, or we need to take this elsewhere." She took a deep breath. Then one more. Then a third one, where she finally unclenched her fists. When she nodded he let go. Then he turned to the nearby tables. "I'm so sorry, if she yells again, I'll take her home." He beamed at their grumbles and turned back around. "So, Mari-babe." He smiled and waved his hand towards her.

She nodded and took a deep breath. The server came back with some drinks. Everyone but Alya thanked them and they scurried quickly away. "So, I should probably start with Adrien knows now. I'm going to guess that Nino knows more than I thought he knew." She turned to him for confirmation.

"Just last night, she was in a fiery rage when she found out the two of you left barely able to walk with how hard core you were sucking face. She blurted out everything so I would understand why that's a bad thing."

"But it's not?" Adrien piped up. He looked between everyone. "I mean, yeah she's, uh, you know. But that doesn't mean we can't be into each other? Did I miss something?" he asked turning to his wife.

Before Alya could explode again, Marinette jumped to explain. "It's because I was planning on going home after all of this was resolved. But what Alya doesn't know is that I've changed my mind and won't be filing for divorce ever." Adrien ahhed and nodded while Nino perked up. Marinette blushed, refusing to look at either of them. "And I'm sorry for not telling you sooner about anything. As for the back-up, I honestly wasn't thinking. That was actually the second time I went in in uniform for more Intel. I should have caught on after being man-handled and chased that that was a stupid idea. The second time, I thought I would be safe because I went in through the vents. HE must have heard me or I tripped a sensor or something because he shot me through the vent. I think it was with a harpoon gun? It was metal and sharp and retracted. I had pushed myself back and the torn up metal from the vent cut into my belly making the injury worse. I got out of there but ran into Adrien. Which was really hard since I totally left his father for dead back-"

"What the fucking hell? What do you mean left Gabe for dead?"

"Oh, um, I kinda suspected Gabriel as uh, being Him because oh shit. Uh, please don't hate me, but I um. I know L'Arc is His hideout. And I kept seeing Gabriel go in there for meetings and thought two plus two equaled four. It actually equaled fish though because I was off on that one. Turns out they are-"

"Back up for a sec, I'm not sure I understand the whole hatin' thing. But also, how can you be sure that L'Arc is connected? Shouldn't we recruit Théo to help if that's the case?" Nino asked, looking between all their friends. The server came with their food then. They quickly (and accurately, they were getting a big tip) placed all the food orders.

Marinette buried her face in her hands and groaned while Adrien quietly started in on his salad. Nino started shoveling food into his mouth, sneaking some fries from Marinette's plate to his. Alya rolled her eyes at him and grabbed one of the pilfered fries to slowly munch on as she waited for Marinette to explain. Marinette finally looked up at them. "You can't tell Théo ANYTHING about ANY of this or He will target you. I know you are going to be furious, so please don't get us kicked out of the restaurant." Alya narrowed her eyes but said nothing, instead taking a large bite of her chicken parmigiana and slowly chewing it. "Ok, so I maybe didn't tell you one little detail about my run-in with The Hawk when he tried to kill me and I was able to get away, but he still thought I was dead. He, uh, was absolutely positive I was going to die. So, he kinda showed me his face to gloat about how much of a failure I was..."

Alya's entire body stiffened. Her jaw and hands clenched in sink, then her shoulders hunched up as she leaned forward. She didn't say anything, what with her mouth full of food, but Marinette could tell that she was mentally contacting King Yan to drag Maninette into the depths of hell for an eternity of torture. Nino frowned, looking between the two. "I don't get it. Why wouldn't you have told Alya that? Seems kinda weird-"

"Because it means she's hiding something else. She was drugged and taken to a locked bunker that was detonated. I know she was drugged because it was in the post mission medical exam findings. Meaning she would not have been capable to bust the lock because she can just work tech when she's in a perfect physical condition. She would never be able to decode enemy tech drugged up. What are you still not telling me, Marinette." Alya bit out. She set her silverware down and slumped back in her chair, arms crossed. Nino started to sweat a little. He pulled on his collar and shrank down in his own chair.

Marinette gripped the table as she tried to think of something to say. Some secret that would be believable in the given context. Whatever she said, she could NOT lie. Because Alya was going to go out of her way to verify every word that would come out of her mouth next. Her mouth gaped like a fish as she stared at Alya, trying to come up with ANYthing. _How quickly could Adrien teach me to hack? Or maybe he can just hack for me as Alya asks me to do something? Gah, but what if she asks me to like, hack her phone this second. Could I say that I wasn't drugged until after? But no, that wouldn't make sense unless I took the drug myself. They probably estimated how long it was in my system anyway. Could I say that he fucked up? Not likely. Oh fuck, I am so fucked!_ She started pulling on her pig tails as she looked between Alya, Nino, and Adrien. "I-I-I-"

On her second glance at Arien, his features gained a determined look to them. He opened his mouth, then faltered and said "Uh, hey there Nathanaël. What's up?" The whole table whipped around to look at the red-head. He blushed and started to stammer something, not meeting any of their eyes. "Uh, Nathanaël, how long have you been standing there anyway?" Adrien's eyes narrowed as Nathanaël jumped and started waving his hands at them.

"Not, uh, too long. I kinda got the point that you are grilling Marinette about something... I uh, but anyway, er, I have a question?" His voice rose as if he was questioning himself. Panic set into Marinette's heart and she jumped up from the table. Adrien quickly grabbed her and Nathanaël held his hands out to keep her from bolting. "No, ah, it's ok! Nothing learned over here. Just, uh, oh man." He pulled on his hair, mimicking Marinette's nervous tick from earlier. Marinette, completely oblivious to the world around her, internally broke down. _My life is over. This is it. This is how I am exposed, bringing dishonor to my family. Dishonor on me, dishonor on my, wait that's not relevant. I am going to be made into a laughing stock before La Papillion or The Hawk or even one of the shitty villains comes after me to finish me off. I'm never going to fuck Adrien, wait that's not important either. Oh my god, my life is over and I can't even focus. Where the hell is all my ladybug luck???_

"What's your question Nathanaël?" Alya asked. Marinette put her thoughts on hold as she detected suspicion in Alya's seemingly innocent voice. She frowned and looked between the two. Nathanaël looked very nervous as he let go of his hair and started twisting his fingers together.

"H-how many more performances do you have Marinette?" he stammered.

"Tonight is the last one," Marinette said with a frown. She caught a calculating look shot between her three friends at the table. "Why?"

"Oh good! Uh, just wanted to see how the uh, bottle was holding up. Make sure it was going to make it. After so long under stage lights it will probably crumble if, er, the chains were to hit it or like, any blunt force trauma really. I just wanted to make sure that you wouldn't need a new one or anything. You know, cause it took a lot of effort the first time to get it into the space and like, I would hate for you to not have it for the final performance. It was pretty durable in the beginning but you probably aren't going to get it out in one piece. Not that that matters, it's just sugar glass, but what I mean is-"

"My dude you are rambling. What are you so nervous about?" Nino cut him off.

Nathanaël visibly swallowed and continued to stammer in a softer voice. He looked everywhere but their faces. Suddenly, his phone rang out. "OH MON DIEU I AM LATE. GOOD BYE!" He screamed at them before turning and bolting.

The foursome looked at each other and then Marinette jerked. "Shit I need to get to the last practice!" She shoved her sandwich in her mouth and ran herself. She ignored Alya calling out that her hubby should give her a ride. She mostly just didn't want the interrogation to continue. She needed time to figure out what she could even say about that run-in.

She slowed down after she knew she was out of sight and walked leisurely so she could at least somewhat enjoy her lunch. Rose was dropping Juleka off when she got there and the two walked in together. She spent her afternoon doing the one last run through, then got into costume and makeup, before just relaxing in her dressing room.

Adrien did not join her preshow, but as she waited in the bottle, she saw him as one of the first patrons through the door. They ran through the final performance with nary a reason for Bridgette to fuss. Not that she wouldn't at the final after party. Having made all their bows, Juleka stepped forward. "Thank you, thank you! We could not have done this without all of your support and our crew, but most importantly we wanted to thank Bridgette and Felix-" _But mostly Felix._ Marinette mentally added. "-for the hard work of directing such a production. We would not be where we are if it were not for you. Thank you, from all the cast and crew." She motioned to the side and a stage hand came out with a bouquet of roses (with a bottle of cognac hidden amongst the stems). Bridget and Felix came on stage from their seats in the audience and accepted the gift(s). To Marinette's surprise, Felix turned to make the "final" speech. Then she realized that Bridgette was bawling into the flowers and practically choking Juleka in a one-armed hug. She held back her giggle and politely clapped as Felix ended.

Everyone slowly dispersed. Adrien shot her a thumbs up and left for the lobby. Marinette took to drinking the last of the water in all the bottles as she waited for freedom. Suddenly the lights shut off, leaving her in the dark. She strained but could hear nothing. Until, someone slowly came forward. Clap. Clap. Clap. She squinted through the darkness, trying to get her eyes accustomed in vain. "Congratulations, Lady Luck." Chills when down her spine at the now all too familiar voice of The Hawk. She heard a click, then sand started pouring down on her. She moved to the edge of the bottle and looked up. Not that it did her any good, she still couldn't see. "I thought I'd give you a proper burial this time," he cackled. Frantic, Marinette grabbed her stool and slammed it against the 'glass.'

Nothing happened.

Marinette stared at it blankly, Nahanaël's words echoing in her mind. Théo's howling taunted her. Suddenly, she realized that that side of the bottle wasn't in as much of the light. Trying to keep her heart rate down and her breathing even, Marinette circled the bottle, looking for the most susceptible spot. She felt along, trying to decide where it was thinnest. The front, where the bottle curves. That's got to be where the most heat was. Rearing back, Marinette put all her force into the swing. Her whole body reverberated in pain as the stool came apart. She slammed a fist against the 'glass,' then froze, staring into the darkness before her eyes. Leaning forward, Marinette licked the 'glass' and found it to be dull, smooth, and slightly warmed. This wasn't sugar glass. Panic setting in, she faced where she thought Théo was standing.

"Oh bravo! Though I did hope you would try some more. Yes, I switched out the bottle. It was easy, I just showed up and told them that Nathanaël was worried about the other one sitting in the lights for too long. All I have to do is wait for you to either choke on the dust or strangle underneath the sand. And before you start to hope, not only are all of your friends busy, but I have all entrances to the stage barred or watched. No one will come save you."

Marinette grabbed the rags to wrap around her face and hopefully keep too much dust out of her lungs. _Théo must have night vision goggles on. He'll see everything I do. No mistakes._ Marinette let her hands shake as she paced the small space. Her only option left was trying to topple the jar, but if he caught on, there's no telling what he had in reserve to stop her. The sand started coming in faster and Marinette did her best to not get stuck in one spot. She focused on the upper part of the bottle, waiting for the right... and... Now!

BANG

Marinette stumbled instead of jumping. Sand was falling like crazy now and she couldn't see anything, but she could hear Théo start yelling. Frantic and no longer caring, she threw up body at the glass in an attempt to tip the whole thing over. However, she kind of just ran through it. She didn't stop until she felt the end of the stage. Flailing, she just kept her balance and turned. She could hear the sand still falling. The glass seeming to be crumbling apart as well. Théo grunted as he struggled with something, or someone. Marinette jumped off the stage and ran to the back of the house, hitting quite a few chairs and/or arm rests on her way. She made her way into the sound booth and started flipping switches until the lights finally came back up.

Théo was in the full Hawk costume. He was wrestling with a figure in a dark red body suit of the Miraculous agents. She hesitated. _Who in the world? Flaming Fox maybe? Who else would be red? Cardinal always wore something brighter..._ She couldn't waste time like this. She rushed back to the stage and grabbed Juleka's chains. Waiting for the right moment, she came up behind The Hawk and dropped the chain around him. Catching him completely off guard, she was able to tie him up quickly. Her supposed fellow agent gave her a salute and turned away.

"Wait!" They turned back to her. "I can't take him, I'm a civilian. You have too."

She couldn't see their face, they had what was presumably night vision goggles on and had their suit covering literally the rest of their skin. They shook their head and turned again. Before Marinette could protest, an agent in blue jumped down from the catwalk. While significantly taller than the dark red agent, there was no other visual difference. This one spoke though, in a high, melodious voice. "I'll take him to Master Fu. Both of you resume your normal lives." She held her hand out for the chain.

Marinette didn't move. For all she knew, this could be Papillion's goon who was controlling the sand. It's not like her organization was subtle about it's costuming choices. It was also known among his people that agents were changing all the time. While she's been in Paris, this woman could have joined the ranks. But then again, she might not have. "Who are you?"

"You are quick to trust that one but not me?"

"They did save me and were actively fighting my enemy. For all I know, you could have been the one pouring sand on my head."

"Master Fu is always right, except when it comes to cooking the rice."

It was an old joke, because Master Fu didn't like his rice sticky and would always complain about how someone cooked it. It was also a code said in front of The Hawk by Ladybug herself to the agent she had gone to help the time he almost killed her. Marinette shook her head and shifted into a defense stance.

"Oh has that been compromised? Too bad, I love making fun of the boss. Tikki is full of aphids."

Marinette's jaw dropped. That was a secret code she made with her mother. One of them would start with that, and the other would say, 'Pollen can't contain her honey!' if it was ok to discuss something private. They also called their plants Tikki so her father wouldn't catch on. He took the phrase as meaning, 'The plants need watering/trimming.' He would use the phrase to tell her to go take care of them. She shook her head and asked, "Who told you that?"

"We don't have time dear, just give me The Hawk. The Lady is needed to bring justice to Paris, tonight." She finally approached now that she was sure that Marinette wouldn't attack. Gently taking the ends of the chain, she kissed Marinette on her crown and whispered, "You'll find out soon."

Mind whirling, Marinette slumped to the floor. That's where Adrien found her when he finally came to look for her. He freaked out, as did the cast and crew who followed him."Oh mon Dieu! Marinette! What in the WORLD happened!?" He knelt next to her and pulled her into a hug.

"I-I-I, n-no one came. To let me out. Suddenly, sand started pouring on top of me. I freaked out and, and broke the jar to get out." She looked around, unsure of how she was going to explain where in the world the sand came from. She was saved by the stage hand who went and found that the counterbalance sand bags has ripped open. They also found that Kaia, the person in charge of getting Marinette out, had disappeared. After extensive searching, she was round unconscious and tied up in the laundry room.

When woken, she was confused and didn't know what was going on. Everyone was thankful that the two were ok and glad that the show was over so none of the broken things mattered anyway. They collectively decided not to think too much about why Kaia was bound. Claire demanded that every come to her place for the cast party, but Marinette easily got out of it, claiming she just wanted to sleep off her scare. Adrien waved to everyone and they made their way out to the car. As it pulled away from the curb, Marinette rolled up the partition. "LB and CN have some work tonight."

"Are you sure? You might still be in shock from-"

She silenced him with a finger on his lips. "I am in shock, but not because of what you think. The Hawk did that to me, it wasn't an accident. Two Miraculous agents helped me, and one of them knew my mother enough to know a secret catch phrase that I thought she had never told anyone."

Adrien shifted, pulling her to rest against him. He started stroking her hair. "Could it possibly have been your mother? I mean, agents escape death all the-"

"No, this woman was a good twenty centimeters taller than me. My mom and I regularly argued about which of us was taller. I usually won."

Adrien sighed. "Ok, just hopeful I guess. What about the other one?"

"Didn't talk. I assume it's Agent Flaming Fox, who I'm pretty sure NO ONE has ever met, because they are so deeply undercover all the time. I'm not entirely sure what the other agent's alias could have been. She wore blue, which is a much more common color when it comes to the body suits." The fell into a comfortable silence. The car turned a corner and Marinette frowned. "What was holding you up?"

"Ugh, I made the mistake of signing something for this cute older couple and apparently a good chunk of my fan-club attended tonight's performance because they mobbed me for signatures after that. When I finally got away, I had to help Felix separate Bridgette from an argument about her directing choices. Actually, now that I think about that, all of us were tied up with various things. Patrons asking really detailed questions and or just person after person asking for photographs. Wow, he really planned that well."

Marinette nodded. She could feel her body relaxing enough that she was almost asleep when they pulled up to the apartment building. _Time to get to work._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> King Yan is the Chinese equivalent to the Grim Reaper. He more is like Hades, as he judges if people lived with merit and should be rewarded with good future lives or if they will be sentenced to torture(hell) or future lives of misery.


	22. Something strange in the neighborhood

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hey, sorry this has been like, forever in the making. After losing two family members too closely together, my depression swallowed up my life. I don't want to not finish this though. I promise to give out the ending even if I never actually write everything. Thanks for reading and I hope you are having a beautiful day.
> 
> Also, shout out to the anon who asked if I was still working on this. It helps knowing someone out there does want to read it.

Marinette did some exercises to not only get ready for what was coming, but also to wake herself up. Adrien insisted that he was more useful to her on site and was getting suited up. He was very jealous of Ladybug's form-fitting suit that slipped on and off with ease. He did comment on her more bulky appearance, but she assured him is was the same suit. She just had switched from stealth to protection mode. He finally came out, however since his "Chat" helmet was dented and not yet replaced, he had a normal one. What took so long was he added a film across the visor to not only hide his identity, but to also give him night vision as needed. That, and the fact that he had to equip all of his body armor individually.

He took Ladybug to his underground garage. He pulled a spare helmet out from under the seat and asked her, "So, where are we going?"

She stared at him blankly for a moment. Then she realized she wasn't sure where to find la Papillion outside of L'Arc. And it being evening, L'Arc was going to be full of patrons. Drunk patrons. Who Ladybug would be responsible for if any harm came to them. But Théo wasn't there. He was now in chains on his way (hopefully) to the International Relations office. "What were Alya's plans for the night?"

"Um? I'm not sure that she told me..." Chat Noir said, scrunching up his face as he tried to think. "Damn it, Nino started to mention going out and Alya silenced him. They are going to L'Arc."

"I doubt she'll answer my call, let's head there."

"Should we revisit telling her about Chat? I can't think of any other excuse for how you could have gotten away..." As he spoke, he opened his visor to mess with some controls. Suddenly his voice was crystal clear for her, coming through a headset built into her helmet.

Ladybug settled onto the bike after Chat Noir as she said, "I told you, it is a HUGE security breach that you were even able to hack into our gear. Plus, I never reported it. HQ would send both of us through the ringer and if we are lucky, exile us from France and China and most of the world actually. If we aren't lucky, well... Alya already has me on thin ice. I don't think she'd help make sure it didn't crack."

Chat Noir sighed. He didn't say anything more. Ladybug tried to think of something to tell Alya. She wondered if she could claim that Flaming Fox helped her. Theoretically they helped her today... But that would be a lie. _Damn, too bad I know that Chat and Adrien are one._ She could have honestly said she didn't know who it was that helped her then. She wondered if it would work for her to out herself without incriminating Chat. If she claims she doesn't know, will the trace be old enough for them to not get back to him? There was an idea. "Hey minou, what's the probability of the Miraculous tech team finding traces of you in the wreckage of that bunker? Do you think they'd find you if they looked?"

"You mean they haven't checked yet?"

"Well, they never had a reason to. I didn't tell them that I was locked in there. Just that I was drugged The Hawk thought I wouldn't be able to get out of there. Which is technically true."

Chat Noir hummed before saying, "Electronic traces don't disappear over time. If I don't have the tech anymore then it's 90% fine. If they are good enough they can still find a way to figure out where it came from though and might be able to trace it to me anyway. There's no way to guarantee that they wouldn't find me because I don't remember if I erased my digital thumbprint. I can't remember if I was doing that by then or not."

"I didn't think I'd get away with 'I don't know who it was, but someone unlocked the door for me.'"

"And pulled your ass out of there."

"Obviously I wasn't going to tell them that!" Ladybug huffed, squeezing Chat's middle and pressing her face into his back. She felt more than heard him laugh at her and her ears started to burn. They fell into silence as she mulled over other ideas. Eventually, they slowed down as he found a spot to park that was just close enough to the bar. She removed her helmet and put it back in the seat. He kept his on but started fiddling with some controls both in the helmet itself and on a watch on his wrist. She mentally scoped out her plan as she waited for him to finish.

"So, what are we doing exactly? Are you changing and heading in there or what?"

Ladybug shook her head and indicated the roof. Chat's head tilted to the side at her silence but went over to the fire escape and started climbing. She followed behind him, after she fixed her mask over her face. She then led him across to her normal hiding place. She watched as Chat fiddled with his controls again. Then he looked at her pointedly. She frowned before it dawned on her and she pulled out her cell.

_**So...y r we hr 2 talk 2 Alya if u rn going 2 talk 2 her?(^=˃ᆺ˂)** _

_Was that really necessary?_

_**???** _

_Shortening everything but using an obtuse cat emoji?_

_**nothin wrong w/ my emojis (=^-ω-^=)**_

Ladybug gave him a "really?" look. She could just tell that he was laughing at her behind the mask. Using the thumbs and pointer fingers of each hand, she made a W. Then she typed something out. _We are waiting to see if Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ takes the first move and does something to AlNo since Th*o more than likely revealed who I am. The blue told me to save Paris tonight. But I honestly don't know where to start._

_**Stake out it is! <(0_0<) <(0_0)> (>0_0)>** _

Ladybug snorted. She quickly put her phone away because she was going to miss something if she messaged him all night. Something like a Gabriel limo pulling up the L'Arc. She frowned and pulled out her compact binoculars. She was sure Chat Noir had something in his helmet so she didn't worry about him. She watched Nathalie leading Alya and Nino out of the club. Nino was laughing, probably at his own joke. Alya was rolling her eyes but looked pretty calm as she got into the limo. _But, we already know Gabriel isn't Him. What the hell is going on?_ She turned to her partner to find him furiously typing away at his wristwatch. She reached out to touch his arm.

Chat Noir jumped before turning to Ladybug. His visor went up and he whispered, "What is going on? Why is one of dad's cars here? We know it isn't him. He wasn't lying to me, was he? But, why would he make all of that up. I-I don't understand!"

"Hey, hey, calm down. Let's follow and find out what's going on." While waiting for Chat to calm down, she pulled a little ladybug button out of her bag and threw it. Since it was her, it of course stuck inside the tire well. so no one would notice it. Chat already hacked into it to pull up the tracker in his visor. Nodding at each other, then made their way back to the bike and slowly followed the car.

They arrived at Gabriel headquarters in time to watch their friends being led inside. Chat Noir seemed even more upset at something, but she signaled for him to wait and they made their way into the building. He pulled up his various cameras throughout the building, tracking the physical and thermal movements. They were led to what seemed to be a random meeting room.

They watched Nino and Alya making out for a solid five minutes while waiting for something more to happen. Ladybug was more than interested in a little making out of her own but knew better than to humor those thoughts. Finally, something happened. The lights flickered off. Smoke poured out of the back wall to fill the room. Soon enough, Ladybug could decipher a figure in the smoke. The person stepped forward as they said, "Ladybug, do come in."

Waving Chat Noir to stay, she slipped in as Alya broke away from Nino saying "Lady-wha? What's going on? Who are you? Why is there smoke in here!?" Before Ladybug could even attempt to answer, straps shot out of the chair, restraining Nino. Alya scrambled to get off his lap and start yelling at the figure. But, a trap door opened in the floor, sending both of them hurtling down. Ladybug couldn't keep the frustration off her face as she took a commanding stance on the other side of the table.

The figure came further forward, revealing that they were in fact the same person she saw on the roof. La Papillion. Ladybug readied her yo-yo. He just laughed. "You can take me on if you want, little bug, but I will be the one walking away from this encounter."

"Oh you'll be walking alright, in hand cuffs. Or chains maybe. Or maybe I should just suspend you with my yo-yo a la Batman style. The authorities would get a kick out of all your illegal activities. I wouldn't even have to hand you over to my boss that way."

La Papillion just shook his head. "Come out little kitty, I know you are there as well. No way you'd let her work alone after that nearly fatal last attempt."

_Shit, there goes my hope for surprise._ Ladybug narrowed her eyes, but otherwise stayed in her stare down with La Papillion. Moments passed and nothing happened. Chat wasn't even making any noise out in the hall to try and draw him out. Finally a flunky came in, closing the door. "All clear out here boss."

"Oh did you ditch the cat then? For shame, I wanted to get rid of all of my problems at once." La Papillion threw his hand out and smoke poured out of his sleeve. Ladybug quickly flicked her yo-yo behind her, bouncing it off the floor and into the flunky's chin. She hit a button on her suit and the fabric at her neck loosened. She pulled up, pulling a mask to cover her nose and mouth out and securing it before turning back to her primary foe.

Of course, he was gone. She adjusted her grip on the yo-yo, the end tied around her middle finger on one hand and her other hand holding onto the cord to spin everything else. She closed her eyes and listened. Just as La Papillion appeared on her left, she shot out her yo-yo. A grunt was heard, but there was so much smoke she couldn't actually see him. She found the table and climbed onto it. She didn't want the floor to give out beneath her. She jumped when she felt something graze her calf. She misjudged how the table was sitting and stumbled, falling to the floor. Another grunt was heard and very quickly something was flying at her. She scrunched as small as she could and waited for the right moment to kick. As it touched her feet, she pulled her legs in, then pushed the object over her. It crashed through the window, taking quite a bit of smoke with it.

Ladybug scrambled to her feet in time to see a figure leaving the way La Papillion had entered. The grunt was still on the floor near the door, but she ignored him and went after her foe. She could only catch glimpses of him to keep up which way she should go. She realized she was being lead deeper into the building, possibly even below where the floor plan said the place ended. The farther down the rabbit whole she went, the more worried she got. Where was Chat? What was going to happen to her friends? Would she make it out of this alive? _Get a grip girl! Don't fall for his tricks! Stay focused!_ Shaking her head, she slid to a halt in front of the last door she saw close. She could hear commotion on the other side. There could be anywhere from 5-30 people on the other side, all ready to kill her. Taking a deep breath, she adjusted her mask to make the eye pieces turn into goggles. She needed full preparation for this. Retracting her yo-yo, she twisted it. Spikes slowly grew. She hit another button and their ends darkened as poison coated the tips and filled the cylinders. Then she kicked the door in, ready to fight for her life.

The room was spacious, warehouse sized. Boxes stacked around the room in a very orderly manner. In the center of the space a was a forklift. On a pallet place over the prongs were a fuming Alya and crying Nino, tied up both individually, then again together. No one else was in sight. She slowly moved forward, and upon reaching her friends uninterrupted, she switched out her yo-yo for a knife and started to free them. As she removed their gags, she came to realize Nino was only crying because of how hard he was laughing. He continued to wheeze, and once completely free, shifted to all fours to continue his fit. Alya, once free, didn't even acknowledge Nino's presence. "Get me out of here please seemingly hero type person," she asked.

"There's no one around?" Ladybug responded, confused as to how she got led here.

"I don't really care. Just get me away from _him_ ," she answered, pointing harshly at Nino. "Before I use the forklift and run him over."

At this, Nino finally spoke up. "Oh it will be fine. HA! It's just Agreste. He's probably trying to get us to make up with Mari. HAHAHA! I totally called it!" The last he said as he stood, pointing back at Alya. He wiped a tear away, still chuckling.

Ladybug fought a smile. Mentally shaking her head, she cleared her amusement and got back to business. "There has to be a way to get all of this down here. It will be faster getting you out that way then going back through the building. Can you drive a forklift?" Ladybug asked Alya. She grinned and hopped in the operator's seat. While she played with the controls to see how to make the lift actually work, Ladybug directed Nino to hop on the back. She herself stood on the pallet in front. After re-activating her poison spikes, she nodded to Alya. They started off, heading further into the warehouse.

"What about all the goons back here?" Nino asked, gripping the support beam, trying not to fall off as they went as fast as possible.

"That's why we brought the forklift," she answered with a cheeky grin. She fell into her standard fighting stance. It wasn't long before they started running into people. At first it was easy. One or two people would come into view and Ladybug would just poison-spike them. When it consistently became three or four people, it was much more of a workout, but she could still manage. When they hit the back of the warehouse, with the row of about 10 people with La Papillion standing behind them, Alya brought the forklift to a stop.

"Well, well, would you look at that. Clever little bug aren't you," La Papillion sneered.

Ladybug was panting. Her yo-yo was out of poison, might have been for a bit now. Goons could be catching up to them from behind. Beyond La Papillion was definitely loading doors. Who knew what was on the other side though. She wasn't quite sure where in the city they even were at this point. It felt like it took hours to get here. She had once chance to make sure her friends lived through this. They were her priority, even if it meant never catching La Papillion. Deep down she was confident it wouldn't come to that, but on the surface she had to kept Alya and Nino as her focus. "Alya, floor it. Floor it all," she whispered as she switched her yo-yo back to it's normal form.

Ladybug's body lurched. Nothing more happened. She didn't turn, but she heard Alya groan and cry out, "Don't run out of gas now!"

Their foes started laughing. As La Papillion threw his head back, Alya took that as her queue and floored the machine while raising the prongs as high as they would go. Their minute distraction bought them what they needed and they crashed through the enemy line. Alya tried to drop Ladybug and the pallet on top of La Papillion, but he was able to get out of the way in time. Ladybug shot her yo-yo up to a rafter, swinging herself over to the door. La Papillion was between her and the forklift. He clenched his fist and snarled at her. He pulled something out of his pocket and threw it at her. She easily dodged, only to realize he was trying to open the door. "No!" she yelled, whipping her yo-yo out to grab him.

La Papillion just stood there, a malicious smile on his face. Confusion, then understanding hit Ladybug. If her weapon was all "tied up," then she wouldn't be able to defend herself. As she thought, someone stepped forward with an uzi and let loose. Without releasing her hold on La Papillion, she did her best to dodge the shots. Her suit was made of a bullet proof material, but that didn't stop her from being blown back. And she didn't really want them to know, because they would turn on her friends then. She could hear Alya and Nino making a ruckus and she just prayed to all the gods she could think of that those two wouldn't get shot. Luckily for her, luck was usually on her side and she didn't get nicked once. Nor did she loose her prey. The clip emptied and the shooter growled at her.

Ladybug took this chance to pull La Papillion to her. By his frown she could tell he didn't expect this. She grinned and pulled a knife out to lay against his neck. As she looked back up, she saw that two people were holding on to Alya, one to Nino, and each had a handgun pointed at their head. Her chest tightened. What was she going to do?


End file.
